Intertwined
by PandoraAbyss
Summary: Danny was curious when his parents had given up on their newest invention - the ghost portal. He didn't know the on button was inside, nor that it would cause the Accident which merged him with a ghost from the other side - a ghost named Phantom. (Pitch Pearl, or DP/DF)
1. Chapter 1

**EDIT 4/22/19: After taking a class on creative writing I decided to go back and edit. And make sure I make Phantom just a little more of a little shit.**

* * *

The first thing Danny was told when he woke to baffled doctors in a pure white hospital room was that he should consider himself lucky. The amount of electrical and ectoplasmic volts of energy he was shocked with should have _killed_ him. He should be dead. That thought stuck with him out of everything.

 _I should be dead._

His body felt _sore_ and phantom pains, as if he was still in the damn machine, getting shocked, would cause him to curl up in agony. His body temperature kept flashing between hot and cold. But overall, he was fine. No matter how much he didn't _feel_ fine. At worst, all he had gotten were faint, lightning-like scars across his whole body. If he wasn't so shaken, he probably would have thought they were just a little cool.

" _Bedrest,"_ the baffled doctors had recommended to his worried parents. _"His body seems to be going through…some kind of shock. Maybe even getting a special sickness from…what was powering your experiments."_

They hadn't corrected them by saying it was ectoplasm or _ghostly energy_ , even though it was well known in town that the Fentons were ghost _fanatics_. But it was perhaps that word – _"illness"_ – that caused them to stay quiet before guilt formed on their faces.

For a moment, Danny wondered if this was _familiar_ to them. If they _knew_ something like this would happen. A part of him, angry at the _stupidity_ of them to think putting the "On" switch _inside_ the machine was a good idea was a hundred percent sure they _knew_.

Maybe a part of them wanted to see this happen.

He should have been angry for a lot longer than under an hour. But their guilty expressions, and the way his mom looked borderline ready to cry, he held back. He swallowed the feelings of anger and resentment and pushed them to the back of his mind.

When he was allowed back home, the _first thing_ his parents did was go back down to the lab. He told himself they were going to work off whatever guilt they were feeling. By the still couldn't help the thoughts that they were just excited about their _Ghost Portal._ That left Jazz to take care of him and he wasn't surprised. The two of them were usually left to their own devices whenever they worked in the lab – why would this be any different?

Jazz was _insufferable_. She was _always_ insufferable when he was sick, just even _more_ now because he had nearly _died_. A justifiable reason, he supposed. She practically made his bedrest a _prison sentence._ She acted as if walking around or forgetting to take his pills were going to kill him. He joked about it aloud to her once. When her eyes filled with tears he decided it was possibly too soon.

Sadly, the doctors couldn't do anything about the phantom pains. Those, he just had to ride out.

Sometimes, he wondered if he should have just chosen school over submitting himself to her intensive care. Through all of the care he was _also_ certain she was trying to make some sort of psychological project out of him. He knew she cared, but if he had to hear her ask if he was "traumatized" _one more time_ he was going to _snap_.

The only mercy was that she allowed his friends to come over every day after school even if she wouldn't let them skip. He pretended not to remember the whole story, just bits and pieces – getting curious, walking into the portal, tripping over a wire and then _pain, pain, pain_. They'd freak out if they knew he felt as if his limbs were melting or that he could _feel_ himself dying. At least they were a huge comfort for him. It was easy to get bored without them and their banter.

The end of the two weeks came closer and Danny could feel something _clinging_ to him deep in his bones. In his _blood_. It was hard to ignore, but he shrugged it off. It might just have been an aftereffect of whatever he experienced.

The morning he was supposed to go back to school, he had an odd dream. It wasn't strange for him to dream of flying but usually it was through space. But _this_ time he was flying through an ocean of green. When he turned his head, he saw glowing green eyes staring back with his face.

 **{Hello?}**

He screamed.

O~O~O

Ghosts are forgetful creatures. But above all, they're _sad_ and filled with a loss that twists and molds itself into something _different_ – something _hateful_ and _obsessive_. No ghost has a good memory of their lives as humans. There are some ghosts that have been dead for so long they hardly think they ever _were_ human. Instead, they were perhaps born of ectoplasm and slowly grew a consciousness as some of the weaker spectrals were.

Phantom wasn't entirely different. He was still a fairly new ghost, strong enough to hold his own against some of the more aggressive spirits but with enough memory to just barely remember who he was. Flashes would come to him whenever he would pause to think back – usually they came as feelings of being protective, of fighting, of mischief, and of trickery. His nature was built from how he lived, and he was slowly gaining a reputation of being the _Trickster Phantom._

The name definitely helped. He was pointedly avoided when other ghosts saw him, usually because they didn't want to be subjected to his mischief. Besides that, ghosts normally left each other alone. Other than the Ghost Hunter Skulker, most ghosts enjoyed spending their time alone in their own territories or with whoever they decided to spend their afterlife with.

Phantom was not one of the few who found another ghost he was fond of enough to spend _every_ cycle with. But maybe that's why he found the Zone so…boring. Other than exploring, there was nothing much to do. He craved more. _Everyone_ in the ghost zone craved more.

But it was Phantom who found it.

Or, maybe, it had just found him.

He had been going about his usual travels and stops. He was deciding whether or not to stop at his "friend's" territory when he found himself caught in a bright _light_. Then there was _pain_ – a pain far beyond what he's felt fighting other ghosts or even at his death. Somewhere close was a scream. _Was it his, or someone else?_

The world was suddenly warm- _too_ warm. The pain subsided after what felt like an _eternity,_ but his body felt sore, twitching in pain (ghosts couldn't get sore, could they?).

Then, came the Memories.

Memories so _real_ and so _vivid_ and so…so _alive_ that he couldn't help but take each and every one greedily, nearly claiming them as _his_.

In these memories, he caught a name. He grabbed it. He wouldn't let go.

 _Danny…my name is Danny._

His core pulsed.

And he fell into a long slumber.

He woke to a dream and a light pull at his core. Which was baffling in itself, because ghosts don't dream.

In this dream, he was in the Zone travelling, but there wasn't much there. Everything was hazy. And when he turned, there was someone else. The other him, he was sure, with bright, warm eyes and dark hair.

 **{Hello?}**

The other one – Danny – _screamed_ and they were both thrown out of the dream immediately.

Now, the pull of his core was insistent.

Usually, it would be nothing, but the feeling of someone _else_ pulling was so new and foreign it shocked him. He tried to pull away but quickly found he couldn't.

As he tried to orient himself, he noticed new emotions, brighter and deeper and overall less _numb_ like he was used to. The primary emotions were confusion and panic. And these…weren't _exactly_ his emotions, though he was feeling them as if they were his own.

Second, he noticed he wasn't exactly in control of his body. He could see and smell and feel but he couldn't _move._

Third, was that whoever was now in control of his "body," though he was a ghost so it was more a formality of a term than anything was also pulling at his core – his _powers_. Badly, he might add, since they were floating to the ceiling with no sign of stopping.

 **{What are you doing?}** He tried speaking to get their attention, aware that his mouth had not moved either. That wasn't _as_ strange. He didn't necessarily speak by opening his mouth anyway.

The person, the one he was slowly starting to realize was _Danny_ , from the dream, froze in air. So startled, he stopped _pulling_ and fell back on the bed.

"Don't tell me I'm _hearing things_ now," Danny– the _Original Danny_ , put his head in his hands, "I'm so sick I'm actually starting to _hallucinate_."

 **{You're not hallucinating.}** Phantom tried to emulate a human's soothing tone. Though, honestly, he couldn't find the situation quite funny. So who could blame him if he laughed a little? As a new ripple of panic flowed through.

"Wha -? Who?" Danny looked around their – _his_ room, trying to find him. Phantom laughed harder.

 **{You won't find me. I'm inside your head.}**

"…I'm going crazy." Danny said and ran a hand through his messy hair, near hyperventilating. "The portal made me _sick_ and now it's making me _float_ and hear _voices_ and—"

 **{No, I'm pretty sure you aren't crazy.}** Phantom quickly intervened before the human began to have a panic attack.

"Why would I trust the _voice_ in my head?"

 **{Listen, just hear me out.}** Phantom rolled his eyes, without _really_ rolling his eyes. **{The portal…combined us, I think. I'm you, and you're me…and you have my powers.}** He tied to think back to the portal and found it _difficult_ to differentiate his afterlife and Danny's memories. It was probably for the best. His afterlife wasn't the most fun he's ever had, and it's not like there was anyone waiting for him in the Zone.

The explanation seemed to have caught up to Danny's frazzled brain. He sputtered. "Whoa, wait, you're _me_? How is that even possible? How the _hell_ did we—?" Another pull at their core from Danny's side. Another odd feeling. Like Phantom was being grabbed and _pulled_ as well. But then, instead of floating, rings appeared around their waist and a light washed over them.

Phantom found himself in control.

He was able to move, though weakly. He wasn't very used to walking. Danny seemed to be helping with that silently. He could feel the human's guidance when he stood. As a test, he tried to pull at his core for his powers but with the instinctual interference of he was just able to allow himself to float and let his hand go invisible for a quick moment.

A moment of silence passed.

Danny spoke up. _Can we go to the mirror?_

 **{Why?}**

 _I wanna see what you look like._

Odd. But he still decided not to argue and walked over.

His messy hair was a shocking white, and his eyes which were completely green, only with glowing light green pupil-less orbs to show where he was looking. He had freckles, which were as light a green as his glowing eyes. Their outfit was the hazmat suit they had worn but the colors inversed. Phantom wrinkled his nose – the thin, body hugging material was far from the flowing, loose material he gathered together to wear in the ghost Zone. There was nothing to hide his face or his body and it made him feel strange. _Vulnerable_. But there was nothing he could do about it now.

 _We look like a ghost!_

Phantom didn't hold back a snort of amusement. **{Well duh.}** He glanced at the mirror a moment longer and felt both his and Danny's wonder. Other than the Memories Danny had shared with him, he didn't really know how he looked in his afterlife. Mirrors were scarce in the Zone and there were few lucky to find one floating among the "lost items." He turned his attention back to Danny.

 **{You do realize we're dead, right?}**

 _But I'm not dead!_ Danny immediately said. _I'm alive! We have a pulse and everything!_

And now that it was pointed out to him, Phantom realized it was true. Strangely enough, he could feel ectoplasm running through their body – their _veins._ Their heart was _beating_ , even if it was probably significantly slower than an average human heartbeat. Their core, though, was not; staying immobile only to solidify that they are unalive.

 **{We're alive…}** Phantom spoke slowly, choosing his words carefully. He didn't enjoy feeling panic. **{But we're also dead.}**

It took a moment to process that. Alive, but not really alive. Dead, but not really dead.

They weren't human. But they weren't ghost either.

So, _what_ are they?

"Danny!"

The voice of their – Danny's – sister jolted them out of their thoughts. She was knocking on the door. Danny's panic fueled Phantom's own.

"Did you lock your door _again_?"

 _How do we change back!?_ Danny scrambled and Phantom saw images of different _terrible_ hiding places.

 **{I don't** _ **know**_ **.}** Phantom focused on speaking directly to Danny so Jazz hopefully wouldn't hear.

"Little brother, you _know_ Mom gave me a key…" There was shuffling, followed by the sound of a key slipping carelessly though a lock.

 _Well we need to figure out in two seconds or—_

At the click of the lock, Phantom decided to throw everything to the air. He tried to replicate what he felt earlier, but to Danny. He pretended like he was grabbing him and _pulling_ him to the front. To his relief, rings appeared around them and the light enveloped their body once more.

When Jazz opened the door, she found her brother standing next to his mirror, in his pajamas, and Phantom watching through his eyes feeling awfully smug.

O~O~O

"Danny, are you feeling better?" Jazz said, not realizing she barely gave him time to catch his bearings after getting control back so quickly, "Today is when the doctor said you should be well enough to go back to school – _Danny_?"

He was barely listening. It was just too _strange_. There was another him, a _ghost_ , who was in his _head_. Sharing his _body_. They were even sharing memories. Faint ones from exploring the Ghost Zone was at the back of his mind, but he couldn't exactly pull it up without getting a headache. He could feel the Ghost's presence, feel their – _his_ core as a low, comfortable hum just below his skin.

 **{Answer your sister. She's getting suspicious.}** His Ghost Half suddenly spoke and he nearly jumped out of his skin as Jazz had decided that was the best moment to put a hand on his shoulder.

Her eyes gleamed with worry. "If you're still not feeling well—"

"I'm fine!" He said a little too quickly and pulled away from her hand. The Ghost snickered and he wished he could kick him, "I—" He hesitated. He needed to talk to his ghost half more but if he stayed in his room for one more day he was going to go _crazy_.

 **{Go to school.}** His ghost half pushed. **{To see Sam and Tucker.}**

"I wanna go," He blurted out, agreeing wholeheartedly with his ghost. At Jazz's suspicious and worried frown he rolled his eyes, "I'm _fine_. I feel much better." The flashes of differing temperatures had settled down now that it only happened once in a while and the phantom pains didn't hurt to the point where he had to curl up on his bed. Well, as _often_ as it was during the 2 weeks.

She sighed and finally nodded, "Alright. Get ready quick or you'll be late for the bus. Oh, and don't touch the cereal. Dad's been experimenting at the table again."

Danny wrinkled his nose. That was just something else contaminated by their parents' experiments. They'd be out of food before Mom did her routine shopping at this rate.

"I'll be quick," He promised her before quickly finding his usual clothes - a simple baggy t-shirt and a pair of jeans. He could feel his ghost half wrinkle his nose at his taste of clothes. He turned to his mirror and stuck his tongue out at his reflection. It felt childish, especially when The Ghost laughed, but he didn't care. He grabbed his backpack. The notebooks only reminded him of the _many_ assignments he would have to make up.

He headed downstairs to the kitchen and found Jazz searching through their fridge for breakfast that _wasn't_ contaminated. Danny sat down and used this time to be able to turn his attention back to the ghost sharing his body.

 _So, what's your name?_

He could practically see the mischievous smirk on his ghost half's face. **{It's obvious, isn't it? It's Danny.}**

 _What?!_ _I'm_ _Danny._

 **{And now I'm** _ **also**_ **Danny. We share a mind, memories, emotions, and a body. We're the same, just Ghost and Human.}** The Ghost – definitely _not_ Danny paused. **{And do you think no other person with the name "Danny" exists?}**

Danny felt his cheeks go red, and he grumbled a quick "shut up" which earned him a worried glance from Jazz before she turned back to the scrambled eggs in her pan.

 _Well…_ He tried to find a way to salvage the situation. _It would just be confusing! And…weird._ _In the – what was it? Ghost Zone?_ He felt something like a nod or feeling of confirmation so he continued. _You called yourself Phantom, right? Can I call you that?_

His ghost half was silent for a moment, before he felt a shrug. **{It doesn't bother me. And I** _ **guess**_ **it's easier than calling me Danny.}**

Danny sighed aloud in relief, "I guess we'll go with that then."

"Danny? Is there something you want to share with the class?" Jazz slid a plate of scrambled eggs to him. He flushed as he realized he had accidentally answered Phantom aloud.

Diving into his eggs, he used the time to chew and swallow to come up with a believable lie, "Just uh – excited to see Sam and Tucker?"

Phantom snickered. He gave him a mental kick, but that made him laugh harder.

Jazz seemed less than convinced, unsurprisingly, "You know, you _can_ talk to me Danny. About _anything_. If…what happened in the lab is still bothering you—"

"It's not! Just leave me alone about it, ok?" He gave her a short glare in warning and went back to his eggs. She sighed.

"…just hurry up. The bus is coming in a few minutes."

"Yeah, yeah…"

 **{She's going to be even more suspicious now.}** Phantom said as he walked to his bus stop. **{She's going to be so nosy.}**

"She's always nosy," He kept his voice quiet, not bothering to answer internally since it was too early for someone to be around or paying attention to him. He leaned against a nearby lamppost as he watched down the street for his bus, "I can handle her – how are we going to handle _Sam and Tucker_?"

Phantom fell silent. He could feel the Ghost mulling around in his mind, searching for an answer. **{How will they react if we tell them the truth?}**

 _Not well._ Was all he could think – maybe Sam would get excited at the prospect of her friend now having ghost powers but after a few seconds the novelty will wear off as soon as they realized he's now _half dead_. And he could see it only blowing up in his face if he tried to explain Phantom to them. Hell, _he_ was still having a hard time understanding it.

But he had to tell _someone_ , didn't he?

 **{Well I guess you don't** _ **have**_ **to. But Sam and Tucker they'll will find out faster than anyone else.}**

He sighed, "I hate that you're right."

 **{I'm you – technically this means** _ **you're**_ **right.}**

"Ugh _stop it_ ," He playfully gave Phantom a mental shove as he spotted his bus coming down the street. Phantom merely chuckled back,

The bus driver seemed annoyed to see him. Two weeks without having to stop seemed to have made her lazy. He hardly gave her a glance as he headed to his usual seat, curling up next to the window and focused on the hum of their core under his skin. It soothed him enough he almost fell asleep.

 **{Want me to keep you awake? You need it to be able to explain all of this to Sam and Tucker you know.}**

 _Please?_

 **{I can try. I'm not a very good conversationalist.}**

Danny hummed softly. _Well…what was your life like in the Ghost Zone? All of your memories are blurry to me._

 **{…well…}** Phantom seemed to hesitate, though slowly tried to explain. **{It was pretty cold…and lonely.}**

Danny shivered. It felt as if cold air had slipped through the bus windows. Flashes of a dark, green area flashed behind his eyes. The oppressing feeling of aimlessly wandering for what felt like all eternity – for what _could have_ been an eternity felt as though it was pressing down on him.

 **{I mostly just wandered around, hoping to find something to entertain me since I was mostly just bored.}**

 _You couldn't talk to other ghosts?_

Phantom snorted, rolling his eyes. **{What could I talk to them about? We're all dead, and all of us hate the Ghost Zone. Only some of us really talked and it wasn't even that often.}**

 _So, you couldn't bond together with your common hatred of the Ghost Zone?_

That rewarded him with a short laugh. **{Maybe. But trust me, I'm in no hurry to go back.}**

The bus arrived at school and Danny quickly climbed off. He headed to the usual place he meets up with Sam and Tucker, under the tree just outside the school. The two of them saw him before he got to them, their wide smiles immediately made him happy that he decided to come to school.

"Hey guys!"

"Danny!" Sam was the first to greet him. She gave him a quick hug that made warmth burst in his cheeks. When she pulled away he gave her a bit of an awkward smile before turning to Tucker and gave him a fist bump.

"You're looking _way_ better dude," despite the joking tone he could hear the relief in his voice.

"Yeah, you don't look like you wanna curl under your blankets for 3 years."

"Isn't that how I normally act?" He laughed as Sam shoved him playfully, "So, what did I miss?"

"Oh, you know, the usual," Sam shrugged, "We filled you in on most of it but you just missed a couple assignments and a quiz or two."

"Great," Danny rolled his eyes, "Can't wait to make _that_ up after school."

"I definitely don't envy you," Tucker shook his head. "Mr. Lancer's quiz was so hard!"

"It was about _Romeo and Juliet!_ It's practically common knowledge! How was it so difficult?" Sam was obviously exasperated. It seemed they had this argument a couple of times while he was gone.

 **{You should talk to them now, before they get too distracted.}**

He sighed. Well, better now than never, right?

"Hey…guys?"

They stopped their banter to turn to him At first, curious, but then their expressions were immediately full of concern.

"What's wrong, Danny?"

"Er, well—I…" He was interrupted by the bell, the loud _ring_ echoed in his ears and he winced. Mentally, Phantom put his hands over his ears, and Danny had to hold himself back from doing the same.

 **{It's so fucking** _ **loud**_ **.}** Phantom hissed. He sent a mental, apologetic nod.

"I guess it'll have to wait," Tucker groaned, "We're going to be late."

"…yeah." Danny held back a grimace. This wasn't really a conversation he could have in under five minutes. He could wait until after school, right?

Classes, when you're gone for an _entire two weeks_ is basically walking into _hell_. A couple of his teachers, where he didn't have Sam and Tucker in his class, were nice enough to compile the notes he had missed. A part of him had a feeling it was mostly due to a small amount of pity at the fact that one of his parents' experiments was what had caused him to go to the hospital.

Though, strict teachers like Mr. Lancer? He was _hardly_ as nice.

Since Sam and Tucker shared the same class with him, he expected him to somehow already completely know what they had gone over and gave him until tomorrow to do the quiz on _Romeo and Juliet_. They were already a couple scenes in, so Danny _also_ had to make a trip to the library to pick up his copy of the book. Then read it, and _then_ do the questions on it that he had missed when they were going over it.

Not to mention, he had _absolutely_ no control over Phantom's powers. Without meaning to, he would cause his hand or legs to go invisible or intangible. He lost count of how many times he's dropped his pencils or had his elbow go right through his desk. It was baffling that no one noticed.

At least Phantom was there to alieve his boredom whenever the teachers tended to go on a particular boring lecture. It was surprising how _funny_ he was. He'd shoot off puns at random moments, which made him to have to put a hand over his mouth in the middle of class to stifle his laughter.

He decided that it was probably his own humor, passing on to Phantom.

Phantom only laughed.

"Danny, are you ok?" Sam asked him when he came back from picking up his copy of _Romeo and Juliet_ from the library. "You've been acting weird all day."

"Weird? Me?" He laughed nervously and slipped into his seat next to Sam. Or at least, attempted to. His foot went intangible, going through the seat for a moment and almost making him lose his balance. He quickly grabbed the table, trying to keep his cool and not yell out like he instinctually wanted to, "I'm not acting _weird._ "

 **{Nice save. They totally believed you.}**

 _Shut up._ He gave Phantom a mental kick and ignored how Phantom laughed.

 **{Just tell them already. They're going to find out.}**

 _But—_

" _Danny_!"

He jumped and turned to Sam who frowned. "…you're jumpier than usual. Are you alright?"

"I'm _fine_."

"How many times did you say that to Jazz this week?" Tucker said and he immediately scowled. So _that's_ what this is about?!

"Why does everyone keep thinking the Accident is the reason I'm acting like this?" He hissed and glared at the two of them. "I'm _fine_! Nothing about it screwed with my brain or whatever the hell all of you think happened—"

"Well ex- _fucking_ -cuse us for being _worried_ about you!" Sam snapped back and fixed him with a glare of her own, "Danny, you almost _died_ and you were – do you know how _horrible_ you looked? You looked like you were on your last string and we thought we were going to _lose our best friend_! I know Jazz was annoying you the whole time but don't _get mad at us_ for being your _friends_ and _worrying about you_!"

It was very silent even with the usual noise and bustle around the cafeteria. Danny grimaced and turned to his lunch instead of his friends. He bit his lip then glanced up. He knew he should apologize, but a strange chill went up his spine, unlike his cold flashes. Smoke from nowhere came from his mouth – like the area had turned cold.

 _Phantom?_

 **{Ghost Sense.}** Phantom said. He could feel _tense_ and slight confusion coming from the Ghost.

 _Meaning…?_

 **{There's a ghost nearby.}** Phantom's voice was slightly annoyed, but he _felt_ antsy. Danny could practically feel how he wanted to jump up and run to find where the hell it was coming from. **{We should check it out.}**

 _But Sam and Tucker—_

 **{Will be fine. Danny, we can't…all these humans…a Ghost can do a lot of damage, even in a short period of time. We can't just leave it alone.}**

Danny hesitated. His nature to help people was overriding his want to settle this with his friends.

Seems like this talk would have to wait until later.

He stood which deliberately shocked Sam and Tucker. He gave them one look in an effort to seem angry with them before he ran off into the mostly-empty school. He ignored their shouts for him as his Ghost Sense went off again, the air felt colder, and he felt his hair stand on end.

 **{It's not a strong one…we can fight it off but we need to switch.}**

"Ok, _how_?"Danny couldn't help but snap as he saw a couple of large, octopus-like spirits down the hallway, though they didn't seem to have noticed him just yet. A pair of Ectopuses, he gathered from Phantom's thoughts. " _You're_ the one who did it last time—"

Phantom let out a suffering sigh. **{Ok just pretend you're grabbing me and throwing me in front of you.}**

"What?!" Panic tightened his throat as the Ectopuses caught his eye. They screamed and began flying towards him.

 **{It's better than nothing! Just** _ **do it**_ **!}**

Danny closed his eyes, and tried to ignore the shrieking of the Ectopuses to focus on pushing Phantom to the front of their control. He felt a familiar tingling feeling and opened his eyes to see the rings appear before they were enveloped in light.

 **{Thank you.}** Phantom moved their mouth but his voice didn't _come from_ their mouth. Instead it echoed around the hall. The Ectopuses screeched and he growled back. _**{This is my territory! How dare you come here!}**_ But it wasn't in _English_ , Danny could tell that much. Yet, he could understand it perfectly as if he was speaking English but he could tell the language Phantom had just spoken was definitely _not_ anything human.

 **{Danny…you need to help me.}** He lowered his voice. He felt him pull at their core to call on the power of flight. Danny immediately began to help a few moments after, so they both floated up, facing the ghosts head-on. **{We are one. We need to fight like it.}**

 _You say that like it's easy._ It was _still_ weird, talking but not feeling his mouth move.

Phantom chuckled.

 **{It'll** _ **become**_ **easy.}** And without another word Phantom pulled at their core and flew towards the ghosts.

O~O~O

The Ectopuses – spectral ghosts made purely of ectoplasm energy – are probably the easiest enemies in the whole Ghost Zone. They have what's probably the least amount of brain power and are practically animals.

But, at the same time, Phantom didn't have much power either. For the moment, all he has are his fists, intangibility and invisibility. But that is enough, isn't it?

There were only two Ectopuses, so he flew to the first one, grabbing it by its tentacles and turning his body, using it like a baseball bat to slam into the other. It screeched as it hit the lockers, and the one in his hands _writhed_. He pulled it closer to punch but was pulled away. The Ectopus on the ground pulled him close with its tentacles.

 _Ugh gross._ Danny groaned. Phantom wholeheartedly agreed with the sentiment. The feeling _was_ fairly slimy. He twisted and writhed before he finally got enough leverage to twist and punch it right in its eye. It let out another loud, sickening screech as it let him go. He went intangible, nearly a second late as Danny had to pull with him. The other slammed into the first octopus and he allowed them to reappear, quickly tangling their tentacles together.

 _ **{Now…}**_ He spoke the language of ghosts, his voice echoing in the hall as he growled. They may be _stupid_ but every ghost, no matter what shape or size understood the language. _**{This. Is. MY. Territory. If I see you two again, there will be more hell to pay than this. Now GO.}**_ It seemed to do the trick. The two let out terrified cries before quickly flying out.

 _Wow. Nice job scaring them._

 **{It's the only method I have.}** He sighed and floated down until their feet touched the ground. **{They won't run back to the Ghost Zone but they definitely won't be coming back here anytime soon.}** He pushed Danny back into control, closing his eyes and letting the light wash over them again. It might have been a quick battle, but since he worked with Danny to work at the _same time_ and fight using only his basic powers made it tiring. He found himself happy to be back inside their mind. Though, the exhausted feeling was shared between the two of them.

"Well…that's good, at least," Danny muttered, yawned.

" _Danny_?!"

Danny froze and he slowly turned to see Sam and Tucker standing a couple feet behind them. Their mouths were agape as pure shock, confusion, and fear were in their eyes.

"…this…isn't how I wanted you guys to find out."

* * *

 **This is my first writing a Pitch Pearl story that is more than just a small blurb, so I hope I'm doing well so far. Just, warning, I've only written five chapters of this so far and I'm trying to get other fanfics done, or revised while I write this. So updates will be all over the place.**

 **EDIT 4/22/19: After taking a class on creative writing I decided to go back and edit. And make sure I make Phantom just a little more of a little shit.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Warnings for this chapter: Um, so I _might have_ forgotten to put this in the description, but there is a brief scene of Vlad Masters/Vlad Plasmius, which is the main pairing for Vlad and we will be seeing more of later on in this fanfic. If this bothers you in any way, I suggest leaving now. **

**Other than that...hm. I'm not _entirely_ happy with this chapter. I felt like more could have happened, but I am still kinda...setting things up (And if I added Chapter 3 to this like I wanted it would have reached 8,000+ words which is just jsldfl _no_ ) **

**EDIT 7/5/19: More chapter editing that...I honestly forgot to upload like 2 months ago and just remembered now. Whoops?**

* * *

"So, you're a _ghost_?!" Sam ran a hand through her hair. Her gaze was zeroed in on him like she expected him to reveal he's a zombie at any second.

"More like a _half_ -ghost," Tucker corrected her, though Danny could tell the joking tone was only to mask the fact that he was completely panicking. "Dude…" He turned to him. His voice lowered into a disbelief filled whisper, "you…you _died_."

Danny grimaced. "Uh…yeah. I did. I don't really like to think about it."

The three of them were sitting in the janitor's closet. After they witnessed Danny turning back from a ghost into a human Sam pulled them into it. He had to tell them everything. Well, _nearly_ everything. He didn't explain the fact that "Phantom" was different from "Fenton." He didn't want to _overload_ them and this was definitely something he could explain…later. That is, when _he_ understands what the hell is going on.

"That's…Danny this is…" Tucker swallowed. "Did you tell your parents?"

He wrinkled his nose; fear flashed from Phantom's side of their link. They could see it now. Their parents, eyes brightening at the possibilities of what's in front of them. Maybe even assuming they're dangerous right away. They'd drag them down to the lab, barely even acknowledging they're their _son_ as they start testing on him –

"And become their next experiment?" His voice shook. He felt an echo of Phantom's hand on his shoulder. "I don't think so."

"Oh, come on, your parents wouldn't—"

"They were the ones who made the portal in the first place," he snapped.

"Are you saying _they_ killed you now?"

It went silent. Far too silent.

Tucker hesitated before softly breaking it. "So…what _are_ you going to do?"

"I don't _know_. I can't just do… _nothing_." He stressfully ran a hand through his hair. There was a small, accidental pull of their core before his arm disappeared and reappeared again. Annoyance prickled him and he scowled. "That's been happening all day!"

 **{Sorry about that. We're pretty tense.}** He didn't directly answer his ghost half for the time being, though he sent a small wave through their link showing he accepted the apology. The ghost was mostly silent though the whole explanation just a minute earlier, only putting in his own opinions to what exactly happened.

"It _has_?" Sam stared at his arm like she expected it to happen again. "How did we-?"

"Not notice?" Danny shrugged. "Maybe another ghost power so you _don't_ notice me? I don't know. Doesn't matter."

"It _does_!" Sam pressed, "You need to learn how to use your powers, right? Why don't we help you so _this shit_ ," she gestured to the closet around them, and then to the three of them, "doesn't happen again. We can watch your back so no one else notices you…transform back and forth."

Danny hesitated. _Phantom?_

 **{I** _ **guess**_ **she's right.}** Phantom grumbled. **{The completely blind sighted us. So they could cover for us later.}**

"Danny?"

He sighed.

"You know what? _Fine_." He crossed his arms. "You two can help. _But_ you're staying _far away_ from the ghosts, got it?"

"Got it." Tucker immediately nodded. "Honestly? You _really_ don't have to tell me twice."

Sam, on the other hand, huffed, "You don't think we can help?"

"Not at all," Phantom spoke through him. "Until _you_ get ghost powers, you should just take a back seat so you don't _die_ like I did."

The air went grim once again.

Tucker smiled, clearly a forced one, and nudged him. "Hey, cheer up! Think of it this way – you're kinda like a superhero now! You know, defending the city from bad guys with your cool powers."

"A _superhero_?"

Phantom laughed. **{Sure. Bad guys who are the souls of the dead.}**

Danny allowed a small smile to form on his face. In part because of Tucker and in part that Phantom's laugh is a bit infectious. "…I guess it is kinda like being a superhero."

"Yeah, but if you _ever_ even _try_ calling us sidekicks even _once_ , I'm kicking your ass." Sam said bluntly, a glint of playfulness in her eyes. "Ghost powers or not."

He chuckled and flashed her a smile. "Deal."

 **{Well that went better than we expected.}** Phantom hummed as they headed to Gym. Strangely, other than the confusion over the dented lockers, it seemed there was no other hints that the student body noticed there were ghosts in the hallways just minutes ago.

 _Yeah, I kinda expected them to freak out more._

 **{Oh, they definitely are freaking out. I think they've tried to stare at us at least five times.}**

Danny held back a small laugh. His friends were just worried. It would be wrong to poke fun at it. _Well we did just tell them we're dead._

 **{** _ **Half**_ **-dead.}**

 _You're going to make sure we pay attention to the technicality?_ He teased.

 **{What? I** _ **enjoy**_ **being half alive, thank you very much. I mean, just an example, we're** _ **exhausted**_ **and I want to** _ **sleep**_ **. Ghosts don't** _ **need**_ **sleep! I haven't gotten sleep since I was alive!}** Phantom sounded so giddy Danny felt a stab to his chest as he realized he never actually thought of what the ghost must be thinking about all of this. It was obvious that he would be ecstatic for a chance at being alive again, even somewhat. **{Hey, don't be guilty.}** Phantom chided him, almost as if he was giving him a tap on the nose or a flick to the forehead. **{This whole thing is a lot to process}**

 _Yeah but still, you're…_ He took a breath. _You're…technically me. Just a ghost._

 **{At this point we're both the ghost.}** Phantom said cheekily.

 _Oh, shut up._ He gave Phantom a playful mental shove and grumbled when Phantom's laughter rang in his head.

"Danny? You ok?" Sam shook his shoulder, and he blinked a few times.

 _Dammit Phantom, stop distracting me._

 **{Then stop** _ **getting**_ **distracted by me.}**

He internally rolled his eyes before he turned to Sam. "I'm _fine_ , I promise. I just zoned out."

Sam and Tucker glanced at each other, sharing a look that made him roll his eyes in annoyance.

"Guys, _really_."

Tucker shrugged. "Hey, after what you just told us, it's kinda hard _not_ to worry."

"I guess…zoning out is just…another side effect?" He said the excuse quite lamely.

"Danny, out of all the excuses you gave us, that was probably your worst one." Sam said bluntly.

He shrugged. "Give me a break, it's been a long day and I'm exhausted. I could go for a nap right now."

"Uh…like…a regular nap? Or a…?" Tucker made some vague gestures with his hands and Danny laughed.

"Well, you guys didn't see," he hesitated, nearly saying "us" before blurting out, " _me_ fight but using my powers was pretty exhausting since it's the first time I tried…" They looked at him with almost unreadable expressions and he sighed. "So, _stop_ looking at me as if I'm on death's door already. I told you two, I'm not exactly _dead_."

"But—!"

Tucker quieted at Danny's glare. He looked away and to the ground immediately.

"Didn't I already tell you guys I'm _fine_? You don't need to keep asking!" He snapped. The exhaustion must have really been getting to them. He hardly noticed how his voice echoed and crackled down the hallway as if under static. It was completely unnoticed by the other students, but Sam and Tucker _definitely_ noticed.

"D-Danny?" Tucker swallowed, "Your eyes are glowing green."

He paused and immediately tried to calm himself. To try and differentiate the mindset of ghost and human.

 _What the hell was that?_

 **{Well, I'm guessing that when we have the same emotion we...merge closer together. To simulate one mind more clearly. So, you just became more ghost like for a second there.}** Phantom sent the feeling equivalent to a shrug. **{At least I** _ **think**_ **that's what happened. They did say our eyes glowed green.}**

He let out a loud sigh and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. Now he _really_ needed a nap. He glanced up to see Sam and Tucker giving him a wary look, like they expected him to explode at them.

"Sorry," Hemuttered before repeating louder. " _Sorry_ I snapped I just...ghost emotions I guess."

 _"Ghost_ emotions?" Sam repeated, her purple eyes gleamed in interest. It reminded him enough of his parents that he found Phantom's fear making him take a step back. She didn't seem to notice as she took a step closer. She leaned down slightly to look in his eyes. "Like _what_?"

"I-I don't _know_. Negative emotions?" His mouth seemed to almost move on its own as Phantom shared the information. "Things like anger, hate, sadness – ghosts feel that more than humans." He shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable as they stared at him. " _What_?"

"How do you know all of that? Your parents?"

"Dunno." He grumbled, walking past them as he noticed the hallway was emptier than before. "Come on, we're gonna be late."

 **{You ok?}**

 _You're me, can't you tell if I am?_

Phantom sighed. **{You're frustrated. Sam and Tucker keep looking at you as if you're going to drop dead any moment now. Which, by the way, I find kind of** _ **hilarious.**_ **}**

He fought the urge to roll his eyes. Besides, he didn't want the teacher calling him out again when he definitely was not listening to whatever they were droning on about. _You're forgetting the fact that they're_ _afraid_ _of me._

 **{They aren't-}** He aggressively sent the image of the weary looks they had given them through their link. He felt Phantom wince. **{Ok...maybe they are. And we can't exactly blame them...we're a supernatural...creature beyond what they understand. Hell,** _ **we**_ **barely understand it!}**

Danny nearly groaned aloud as he felt the exhaustion rain down full force. He felt...alone. A strange kind of loneliness where he _knew_ he was the only one who could really and truly understand what he was going through. He had no one to turn to. No one who could possibly help him. No one who could answer all his questions.

After all, it wasn't as if another half ghost existed out there or anyone who actually _knew_ everything about being half ghost.

O~O~O

Far from where Danny sat in his classroom, in an office in Wisconsin, sat the billionaire Vlad Masters. To anyone who would be looking, he seemed like the picture of a calm, collected business man. Though to the ghost who knew him, _truly_ knew him, as he spent near 20 years with him, knew that he was antsy. Just by the way he would take a break every minute or so to fidget with his pen and look out the window.

Suddenly, Masters looked up, tense before he relaxed, sighing. An amused smile formed on his face as he looked at the door. "Are you going to stand there and watch me forever? You know I can sense you there."

It took a second before a ghost appeared to the human eye. His eyes glowed a solid red and the suit he currently wore, a travelling suit, seemed pristine and untouched. But Masters could see the subtle shifts in the fabric where he knew the ghost had gotten hurt. His hair was put up for the moment, almost resembling Dracula which amused the human greatly. He knew that it was only for intimidation than anything. He knew the ghost preferred his hair down.

As if answering this, the ghost seemed to relax. His form shifted for a moment as his suit became a black tank top with his gloves and loose training pants. His hair flattened down to his shoulders which he didn't bother to put back in a ponytail as his human half normally does.

 **{Masters,}** he began as a greeting. His lips moved with the crackling echo around the room. It had a fondness to it that many wouldn't have noticed. **{Something is...off.}**

Their shared core pulsed as they were now in the same room. The instinct to be close and to merge back together heightened greatly. With 20 years of practice behind their belt, they managed to ignore the instinct for the moment to indulge in later. Instead, they focused on Masters's curiosity.

"Did you find something on your trip, Plasmius?" He asked, leaning in slightly as his ghost half walked towards the desk.

 **{There was a recent...shift...in the Ghost Zone.}** He slipped a gloved hand through Master's ponytail. It allowed a small indulgence in the contact they both craved. **{It's similar to the shift that happened when** _ **we**_ **came into being.}**

Plasmius felt a blast of interest followed by excitement. He chuckled. His human always got excited easily by anything new they found out about the Ghost Zone or about themselves. They've been together, but at the same time _alone_ for so long. It wasn't a surprise that they were both excited for this change in development.

"Another one of _us_ was created?"

 **{It's possible. Are you halting your plans to find them?}**

Masters paused at the reminder of his current plans. His eyes shifted to the side, where papers titling _College Reunion_ sat. On top of the list of those invited was the name _Fenton_.

He sighed and closed his eyes.

He wanted revenge. He's wanted revenge for _years_ and he was so _close._ Just a few more preparations, a few more tweaks to their inventions and it would be done. He just needed a month. Maybe two. He wasn't exactly sure, but he definitely was _not_ switching plans.

"No." He finally decided and turned to the red eyes of his other half. "We're going on the plan as usual. Finding the other halfa will have to wait until then"

Plasmius hummed and leaned in a bit further. **{Fine. Jack first, new halfa second.}** He brushed their lips together. Their core lit up with familiarity.

Masters forced himself to pull away an inch before he allowed himself to succumb to their instincts. "You're forgetting Maddie." He reminded his ghost lightly, nearly laughing as jealousy spiked across the link.

 **{Right. The woman you're still so** _ **fond**_ **of.}** He practically hissed and bared sharp fangs. **{I don't see why you continue to wish to chase after her. Aren't** _ **I**_ **,}** he grabbed him by the collar and pulled him close. The possessiveness of a ghost that has _claimed_ someone was clear in his eyes. **{Good enough for you?}**

Masters seemed almost bored, though his eyes lit up with amusement. He was more than used to such a show of anger from the ghost. "Of course you are," he purred back, "but you know I've wanted Maddie for years and getting her is part of my plans against Jack. It's not the same as you. You're my _mate_. She's just a human."

That seemed to calm the ghost. For the moment at the very least. He leaned in, brushing their lips once again. He sent over the want to give into their instincts before they would merge into the same body again for a while.

Masters let out a small chuckle and slipped his hand into Plasmius's dark hair. He pulled him closer to deepen the kiss.

 _Is the door locked?_

 **{It always is.}**

O~O~O

Sam couldn't help but peek another glance at Danny, worried for her best friend (and crush, though she hasn't exactly explored those feelings just yet). Who in the _world_ would ever have to deal with the fact that their best friend had virtually _died_ and now had powers beyond what he could control or what anyone could understand?

Not to mention, there were moments like _this_ where he would just zone out. It was odd and completely worrying at the same time. And _no one_ seemed to notice. It seemed like _no one noticed_ when he or a part of his body would blink out of existence or the way his voice seemed to have an extra echo or static to it.

Only two people noticed now. Her and Tucker.

They definitely needed to talk. Away from Danny. Just so they could _discuss_ this more. To just _process_ that their friend is dead yet at the same time _not_. To process that he's become something supernatural and foreign.

To process that he's become a different Danny that they know. And they need to figure out how to handle it.

"Are you two following me?"

She glanced up to see Danny's annoyed frown. They were leaving the school, a step behind him, as they walked together. His eyes flashed green and she forced herself to ignore the shiver that went up her spine.

She wasn't afraid of Danny. She _wasn't afraid of Danny-_

"Hey," Tucker's voice shook for a moment, "don't pretend like we never walk home together."

Danny blinked a few times, then groaned, "Ah crap – right, right, you're right." He sighed loudly and rubbed his temples. "I'm sorry, I just...I'm _exhausted_. And you two are making... _me_ tense."

There it was again, the hesitance on saying "me." She had a feeling he had left something out in his explanation earlier, and she wanted to find out what.

With all this hesitating and the fact that he's a _ghost_ now…was it really _Danny_ in there?

But currently, with how easy it was to make him snap at any moment, she knew he would never give anything away. Not to mention, bugging him was definitely dangerous right now.

"Do you...want to be alone?" She offered.

He immediately nodded and fixed them with that puppy dog look. Matched with his wide, blue eyes it was always incredibly difficult to say no to. "Please guys?"

"But- ow!"

Sam hit Tucker with her elbow, giving him a look before turning to Danny. "Get home. Take a nap or something."

He sighed in relief. "Thank you." He turned away and walked down the street, disappearing from their sight more than once.

"Sam, what are you _doing_?" Tucker finally asked, turning to her once Danny was out of earshot. She shook her head.

"We need to talk. About Danny."

He grimaced, then slowly nodded. "Yeah, I know. Your place?"

"Are you kidding me?" She scowled. "My parents won't leave us alone if we go to my place. How about yours?"

He glanced at the time. "If we go now we'll have about an hour or two before they're home from work. Is that enough time?"

"It…should be." She said slowly, glancing back at the street Danny had gone. "...let's go."

* * *

 **Do you ever think about the fact that Danny is dead and they totally skipped over the fact that three fourteen year olds have to deal with that knowledge?**

 **I hope I'm doing well with Tucker and Sam's characterization. I worry about it every time I re-read chapters.**

 **I'll see you all in the next chapter!**

 **EDIT** **7/5/19: More chapter editing that...I honestly forgot to upload like 2 months ago and just remembered now. Whoops?**


	3. Chapter 3

**I _love_ this chapter guys, which is...strange for me. Maybe because I'm getting better at action scenes...?**

 **There's some onesided Sam/Danny and Tucker/Danny in this chapter. Which was pretty funny to write. And don't worry they'll find someone else. (I already have Sam's end game relationship planned out so that should be fun)**

* * *

Despite the familiar scenery of Tucker's room - the familiar bed, and familiar electronics surrounding her, she still felt wildly uneasy. It wasn't because Tucker kept typing away at his computer, waiting for her to open her mouth. No, it was the feeling of how _off_ her best friend felt. How _different_ he was, yet at the same time not.

"Danny's different." She finally spoke.

Tucker turned back to her, raising an eyebrow. "Well, _duh_ he's different! He... _died_."

"Half-died." She corrected, in a terrible attempt to lighten her own mood. "But he's...I think he's hiding something."

"…so I'm not the only one who thinks that?" Tucker leaned back in his chair, sighing in relief, though it was obvious he looked almost tired. "I mean, if _I_ turned into a supernatural creature, and have parents who _study_ those creatures, _and_ I barely understand what's happening to me well...I'd keep secrets too."

"But we're his _friends_!" She stood, wanting to knock something over but nothing close enough would cut it. "He should be able to tell us anything! We're the only ones who know that he half-died-"

"And we don't have all the answers to what he's going through." Tucker reminded her. "Besides, you... _saw_ how he just _yelled_ at those ghosts and made them run away. And his... _eyes_ when he got just a little annoyed with us..."

Sam shivered. The memory of the foreign and completely inhuman language still rang in her ears when she remembered how Danny _growled_ it at those ghosts. How they cowered and immediately left. Then how he had glared at _them_ earlier, his voice louder and echoing. She had never, _ever_ seen Danny as someone to fear. Hell, when they were kids she remembered very clearly how he had cried when he scraped his knee falling from the monkey bars. Or that time when he saw a dead squirrel and cried over _that_ because it's death was "so sad."

Danny is a dork. Danny is a small, scrawny fourteen-year-old kid who cries over dead animals and geeks out about space. Danny is her _best friend_.

And yet here she is, shivering at the thought of his eyes turned to her.

She aggressively shook her head. "No. No, no, _no_. We are _not_ afraid of Danny. Danny isn't...we shouldn't _fear_ him. Not _now_. Not when he needs us."

"Well you shouldn't _lie_ to yourself." Tucker snapped back. "Just accept that _you're_ afraid – that _we're_ afraid, and then we can move on and try to _help_ him. He'll just get angrier if we keep lying about it."

With clenched fists, Sam _glared_ at him. She hated when Tucker was right. But she refused to be scared of Danny. She absolutely _refused_. "Well you can tell him _yourself_ that you're afraid of him. I'd be happy to see how _that_ turns out." She hissed. "Meanwhile I'll be a _real_ friend about this."

"At least I wouldn't be _lying_ to him." Tucker snapped back, matching her glare. "Look, we don't know what powers he has now. We didn't even _notice_ he had powers until he transformed right in front of us. Maybe people not _noticing_ is another power he has. What if he can sense emotions or whatever else?"

She bit her lip and looked away. "But..."

" _But_ we need to be there for him. We can't be in _denial_. We shouldn't run, but we can help him figure out his powers. I mean, you think _we're_ scared? Sam, I've known him _longer_ than you." Tucker sighed and turned back to his computer, typing away. "He's _way_ more scared than the two of us _combined_."

It was silent for a moment, before Sam sighed and walked over to him, standing behind him as she tried to figure out what he was doing. "Dammit, Tuck, I hate when you're right."

He just turned to her with a cheeky smile. "Now, if we're done arguing, we have research to do."

"Research?"

"Well yeah. Listen, Danny's parents may be scientists for ghosts but all they've ever talked about is _hunting_ them. Like, _Ghostbusters_ style. You know? So, I wouldn't go to _them_ for advice on how to train a half-ghost kid on figuring out his powers." He clicked on a couple articles. "So, basically, we're on our own with this. And Danny's too tired and er – what's the word? Ready to snap?"

"Temperamental." She told him with ease, kneeling next to him as she read the titles of the articles he had chosen. "What the hell – _Urban Legends_? _Ghosts A-Z_? Tucker, I think Danny needs more than just _myths_ to help him figure all of this out."

"Myths are all we've got!" He pointed out, before printing a couple of the articles and pushing one into her hand. "Look, we don't know anything about ghosts. We never sat and hung around when Mr. or Mrs. Fenton would blather on about them. _So,_ all _we_ have to work with are whatever stories people tell each other on the internet."

"T-Tucker this...this is _stupid_! This is just a bunch of people spreading lies and getting blurry images that are photoshopped! How is this going to help Danny?"

"We won't know until we read it, right? So, start looking."

She let out a loud groan, but still sat down and began reading. Even if it was stupid conspiracy theories, if it's going to help Danny, they didn't mind frying their brains a bit.

O~O~O

Just on the walk home, Danny walked through at least 15 obstacles and went invisible 20 times. No one noticed, but it only increased his bad mood. What made it _worse_ was that Jazz was home _early._

Of course, the one day she wasn't spending in the library or at some after school club or whatever was when he hardly wanted to talk to anyone.

"Danny!" Jazz perked up from whatever papers she was surrounded by. "Hey, how was school? Are you feeling alright?"

"Good. And I'm fine." He answered shortly, heading towards the stairs.

"Shouldn't you take your-"

"I said I'm _fine_!" He snapped back down to her before practically slamming his bedroom door. He felt it almost break under his new strength which, he supposed, would have to join the "new powers" list. He groaned and went over to his bed, kicking off his shoes before falling onto the blankets, hitting the pillow with his face.

 **{...well that wasn't at all suspicious.}** Phantom muttered, sounding as exhausted as he felt. **{She's going to bother us.}**

"Let her." He grumbled into the pillow. "I'm not in the mood."

 **{I can tell. I'm you.}** Phantom answered back, though Danny could hear him dozing off, and he was close to doing the same. **{...we need to figure out how to control this.}** Phantom suddenly sighed. **{We can't go on accidentally walking through walls. We don't know how long the "** **notice me not"** **power will last. Or if we can even control it or not.}**

Danny sighed. "Tomorrow. Tonight. I don't know when but can we please take a nap?"

 **{Oh, yeah please.}**

They fell asleep almost instantly, and only woke up a couple hours later when Jazz knocked on their door after she finished making dinner.

She didn't ask any questions, but she did make him take his medication and reminded him he would have a checkup with the doctor in a week.

So, he had a week to make sure they had their powers semi-under control so that the doctor won't freak out. Great. Wonderful. Fantastic.

After the nap, Danny found they weren't tired at all. In fact, they were _antsy_. The hum of their core was just under their skin, and it made him just want to _move, move, move_.

 **{We should go out flying.}**

" _Flying_? Really? We've been going invisible and intangible by accident all day and you want to go fly?" He had to admit, he was a little curious about it, and he knew Phantom knew. The short flight they had done while fighting the Ectopus didn't really count in his book. That felt more like floating.

 **{See? You want to do it! And it'll get rid of the antsy feeling for a bit.}**

"Shouldn't we learn how to control our other powers first?" He asked, though he was still finding himself pushing Phantom to the front, allowing his body to be taken over by his other half.

 **{Well, yes. But later.}** Phantom hummed as he opened the window. **{I've always wanted to fly in the human world. The stars are going to look so pretty over the clouds.}**

 _That does sound amazing._ He almost laughed, only to let out a squeak as Phantom climbed up on the windowsill.

 **{Ready?}**

 _Nope._

Phantom jumped.

O~O~O

Flying was the only way to get around in the Ghost Zone, and Phantom _loved_ it. Walking was mostly unnecessary, and he could hardly remember a time in the Zone where he would actually walk. It was mostly only when he was too injured to actually keep himself in flight. And being too injured to fly was a trip to definite death if you ran into the more aggressive ghosts.

But here, in the Human Realm, there were hardly any aggressive ghosts to worry about. And the ones who had escaped, it seemed, were weak enough to handle with fists and intimidation.

So, he was worry free, but his human definitely was not.

 _Phantom! How the hell are you controlling this?!_

He shrugged, going a bit higher so he was going over the building rooftops. **{Our core powers most of our abilities. It takes the least amount of effort to fly. All it takes is knowing how.}**

 _Right...so you're basically in charge of flying. Right. Gotcha._

 **{You are** _ **helping.**_ **The only things I can do by myself is talk and walk.}** He shook his head. His human was so...silly.

 _I heard that._

 **{I know.}** He responded cheekily before landing on one of the higher rooftops, looking up to the stars. **{...it's beautiful. I missed it.}**

 _...it's even better outside of a city._ Danny sent him breathtaking images of the stars out where there wasn't as much pollution blocking them. _Maybe I'll show you sometime._

Phantom let out a sigh, letting a small smile quirk up on their face. **{I'd like that. A lot.}** He found the flustered awkwardness Danny practically screamed from the other end of their link extremely amusing and…cute, actually. Strange, considering that, technically, they are still the same person.

...only technically.

They stood on that rooftop for a moment, strangely their thoughts merged and intertwined into one, with a melancholy feel. Then, Phantom floated up into the air again and went back to flying around the area.

 _Hey, Phantom? Can I ask you something? I don't know if it's personal or not to ghosts or something._

 **{Not a lot should be very secret between us. So, ask away.}**

 _How...long ago did you die?_

Phantom paused, not really expecting that question though at the same time, he somewhat did. His human was curious, as he was allowed to be. With a sigh, he hummed and tried to sort back through his memories. After almost a day, it became much easier to separate Danny's memories from his past ones.

 **{...honestly? I'm not sure.}** He shrugged. **{No one keeps track, and no one remembers.}**

 _Oh…I bet you're really old._

He allowed himself to laugh a little, pushing away the depressing memories of wandering the Zone by himself. **{Maybe I am.}**

It was silent again, and the memories kept cropping up. Shared between the two of them, it created a depressing silence.

 _...should we head back and try to control our powers a little?_

 **{Sounds like a good idea.}**

O~O~O

A week went by at an odd pace as Danny and Phantom got used to each other. It was hard, between the Ectopus wandering into their territory (strange how quickly Phantom got possessive with the town, matched with Danny's fondness of the area he grew up in), to accidentally activating their powers at any point (especially at sparks of emotions), and Sam and Tucker acting weirdly around them, it was no wonder they came home exhausted every day.

But since they did come home every afternoon after school wishing for sleep, they ended up taking a nap only to be woken up at dinner, then go flying (sometimes fighting an Ectopus if they run into one bothering humans) and go back to their room to do homework and work on their powers. So, at most, they only get a couple hours of sleep at night.

No one seemed to notice that he was getting about five or four hours a sleep for a week. Phantom, to Danny's amusement, merely found it odd that even with sleep they were still tired.

 _Human limitations are annoying, huh?_ Danny teased his ghost half as they neared his home. Once again, Sam and Tucker hadn't walked home with him. He thought after a couple of days they would at the very least try to insist they come with him, but they were acting _odd_. He just figured they were trying to distance themselves from him. He didn't blame them – he would distance himself too if he was afraid of someone.

 **{A little annoying.}** Phantom chuckled, before going silent as their mind strayed back to their two absent friends. **{...we may have to learn to live without them.}**

Danny winced, and pointedly ignored the comforting wave Phantom sent to him. He was definitely allowed to be angry at his friends for practically abandoning him – well not really. He had done his fair share of avoiding them this week too.

 **{We should talk to them.}**

 _You mean_ _I_ _should. They don't know you exist._

 **{You know what I meant Danny.}** Phantom brushed him off. **{We can't avoid them forever.}**

 _I can if they keep avoiding me._

Phantom let out a small snort. **{You're so petty.}**

 _Oh, shut up._ Danny tried to hold back a fond smile as he opened the door, holding back a groan when Jazz glanced up.

"Oh, hey Danny! We're going to be leaving in half an hour since Mom and Dad are still busy and they can't take you." She told him with a note of bitterness in her voice.

He stared at her, his nose scrunched up in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

She sighed and closed the book she was reading. "Your check up? To make sure there's nothing else wrong?"

"Oh." He had totally and completely forgotten about that. The symptoms of becoming half-ghost hasn't entirely disappeared. He still felt the hot or cold flashes, and the phantom pains would hit at random times, though not as frequently as it did at first. The medicine definitely helped but it still hurt, having to lay on his bed and wait for the pain to calm down.

There wasn't anything really that special he had to do to get ready for the doctor. More the fact that he wasn't disappearing or going through things every few seconds really helped calm him on the fact that he wasn't going to freak his doctor out when they ran tests.

So, when he climbed into the passenger seat, he actually felt pretty confident about what he was walking into. All he had to do was focus for an hour or two and he would be fine.

Well, that's the reasoning he gave himself for why he didn't answer his phone when Sam and Tucker called.

O~O~O

"Fucking _finally_!" Sam sighed in relief, pushing away the last of the printed-out articles. Next to her were various notes that she had taken in a little black book (It might have said "Death Note" on the cover, but she normally used it for random note taking). Looking over it later, she might have groaned at how stupid it was, and how she let it take _hours_ of her time. But, she still did it and that was good enough for her.

"I'm guessing you're done?" Tucker grinned when he looked up. He had his own list, which she was sure would match her list perfectly but at the moment she didn't care. They were done, and they had compiled a list of powers and mannerisms Danny may develop.

"Yep!" She stood from her place on his bed and grabbed the stack of articles. "Excuse me while I go burn these."

"Just throwing them in the trash is fine you know."

"Nope!" She declared. "They took precious hours of time away and they will get their just punishment."

Tucker shook his head, obviously playing along. "Sounds like you're running a cruel dictatorship here, Sam."

She smirked. "It's more of a monarchy actually."

Tucker's grin grew more playful. "Doesn't a Queen need a _King_? Sorry Sam, but Danny isn't here at the moment."

Her face grew hot – she _hated_ that Tucker knew about her crush (she wasn't even sure if it was a _real crush_ yet). And he always brought it up whenever Danny wasn't in the same room.

In annoyance, she threw the stack of papers at him, causing him to yelp, and his glasses to fall off his face to the floor. He was laughing, though, as he looked around for the fallen item.

"Sam! What if I got a paper cut?" His whine was fake. She scowled.

"Then stop bringing it up!" Her face still felt hot. She watched as he scrambled looking for his glasses. A part of her was satisfied with that tiny revenge at least – there was no way she would help him find it when he had poked fun at her. "I should have _never_ told you that I think I have a crush on him."

"Well it's not that big of a deal." Tucker shrugged, before letting out a quick, "a _ha_!" as he finally found his glasses and he slipped it on his face. "Listen, it makes sense you would like Danny – or think you like him!" he added quickly, probably at her glare (she's been told, by Danny, that her glare was deadly enough that it should be "filed down as a weapon in court." She laughed hard enough to decide to make it her thing.) Tucker coughed awkwardly before continuing, "Danny is a good person. And uh, attractive. And…it makes sense in any _hypothetical situation_ that someone would have a crush on Danny. At any time."

Wait a minute.

 _Was he blushing?_

A moment of realization swept over her, and she couldn't help the devious grin that crossed her face as she pointed at him.

" _You have a crush on him_!" She declared, proud of her deductive skills, but she was far too happy the new information she had just realized to pat herself on the back.

" _Had_! _Had_ a crush!" He insisted, his face still flushed.

Seeing that she was still grinning, he groaned and grabbed his beanie, tugging it over his face and causing his glasses to fall on his lap. "Listen, this was _last year_ I realized itand I'm just recently getting over it…"

"But you _admit you have a crush on him,_ right?"

He groaned again before relenting with a nod. "Yeah, I have a crush on him."

An evil cackle escaped her lips. Oh, all the sweet, sweet _revenge_ she would get for every second he teased her for her (hypothetical) crush on Danny. Just as she opened her mouth, getting ready to tease him mercilessly, a _chill_ fell over the room.

They both paused, looking at each other in confusion. Had the air conditioning gone on the fritz? Did it just get 20 degrees' cooler outside? Had they left a window open? (they actually had, they later found)

It was none of those things. It was, in fact, an Ectopus much like the ones Danny has fought so many times before slipping right inside Tucker's bedroom. For a moment, they could only sit in paralyzed horror as it stared down at them. It was far bigger than Sam had really ever expected. Danny is small, so she was _used_ to something being bigger than him. In fact, from a distance, it looked about as big as him. Almost cartoonish in features.

But now, directly in front of her, she just realized how _frightening_ the thing was. It was a toxic green, glowing dimly in the room and making the lights themselves flicker and go out. It had the slimy body of an octopus, its tentacles as thick as her head and at least six feet long. But it's eyes…it's eyes were _large_ and looked through her as if it was trying to tell if her very soul was something good to eat. Its beak looked sharp, reminding her very much of one of those large, predatory birds.

She could hear her heart beating wildly in her chest. No one moved for a moment.

Then the ghost _screeched_.

Sam answered with her own scream, running to Tucker to grab his hand and _run_ , ducking under the thick tentacles and just barely dodging them in their escape out of the small room. She could feel whatever slimy substance on her clothes from one of the tentacles, but she still headed to the nearest room – the kitchen.

" _Tucker_!" She hissed, watching the door for the ghost. "Call Danny!"

"I'm trying!" Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed his fingers shaking as he looked for Danny's contact number.

"Call him _faster_!"

" _You_ try getting your limbs work when you're scared shitless!" Tucker practically hissed back.

She wanted to snap back at him, but _clicking_ made her body freeze and her heartbeat to skyrocket again. Even though a part of her knew it was useless, she grabbed the nearest weapon.

Which happened to be a spatula.

She hardly had time to loudly curse her luck when the Ectopus phased through the door, letting out a loud _screech._

Without hesitating (and having really no other options) she threw the spatula as hard as she could at the thing's eye.

It didn't do much.

In fact, it went right through it.

But now she had its attention.

"Oh _shit—"_

The Ectopus let out another, angrier screech, before lunging for her. She quickly dodged – Tucker had hidden under a table, talking frantically into his phone.

"Tucker!" She yelled, rolling out of the way of some tentacles, "Is Danny coming?!"

"I couldn't get to him! He didn't answer his phone!"

"For _fucks sake—_!"

She interrupted herself with a cry of pain as one of the tentacles slammed into her side and pain exploded behind her eyes as she hit the wall headfirst. With a groan, she felt herself slide down to the floor. In the distance, Tucker cried out her name. The screeching of the ghost filled her ears.

The world slowly went back into focus, but it was hard without her fighting the incredible pain that throbbed at her side and at her head. (was she bleeding?) A tentacle was wrapped around her torso and arms locking them to her side. And she was getting lifted up—

" _Sam_!"

A chair soared through the air. It missed the ghost, and harmlessly bounced against the wall, but it still made the Ectopus turn to Tucker. The _fucking idiot_ was in front of the table he was hiding under a moment before, completely frozen as the ghost's gaze pierced into him.

"Tucker, you _idiot_." She hissed. " _Run_!"

But it was too late. He wasn't as fast as Sam was, so he didn't react quickly enough.

Another tentacle reached out, wrapping around him and pulling him up in the air.

 _Danny better come here quickly._ Was all Sam could almost hopelessly think as the ghost turned to her, its eyes glowing as it neared her, it's beak just touching her cheek. She could feel herself getting… _weaker_. Whether it was the pain or…no.

It was _feeding off of her_.

It was feeding off her _soul_.

 **{Get away from them!}**

There was a loud collision as a black and white blur _slammed_ into the ghost. It screeched, Sam felt a sting at her cheek as she hit the ground with a dull _thud_. The world was out of focus again, but she could still hear shrieking and inhuman _growls_ from the fight. Then it was gone.

"Sam? You ok?"

She blinked a few times and glanced at Tucker. He looked over her worriedly.

"If you ever do anything that stupid again like throwing a chair at a ghost, I'm killing you myself."

That pulled a shaky laugh out of Tucker as he helped her to sit up. She felt blood dripping down her cheek.

"If you can threaten me that means you're alright…. How's your head?"

Pain was still pounding behind her eyes. She forced her own shaky smile. "Nothing I can't handle. My parents' yelling caused worse."

 **{Are you two ok?}**

Danny slid down through the roof, before floating in front of them. They immediately stood to meet him. (It really was odd, how his mouth moved and his voice seemed not to come from it.) At one side of her mind, she noticed he had floated up to meet her eyelevel ( _that's no fucking fair he's so fucking adorable stupid fucking—_ ) but she was just too _angry._ Too fucking frustrated and angry after being so _terrified_.

"Where the _hell_ were you?" She demanded. "Why didn't you answer Tucker's call?!"

 **{We...I was at the Doctor's office.}**

" _We_?" Confusion and curiosity overrun her anger.

 **{Me and Jazz.}** He quickly answered. His mouth wasn't even moving anymore. It so…strange. His glowing eyes searched her face. It was so reminiscent of the ghost from earlier she couldn't help a shiver. **{You should do something about that cut on your face.}**

"Cut…?" The sting on her cheek seemed far more present than before. She touched it and winced. Blood was on her fingers.

"I'll get the first aid kit." Tucker immediately offered, slipping out of the room.

Sam sighed and wiped away some excess blood off her cheek. Danny had transformed back into his human form and the chill in the room washed away. Tension Sam didn't realize was in her shoulders loosened.

"Sam, I'm sorry I didn't answer the calls." His voice was sincere, and she almost felt bad for yelling a minute earlier.

She sighed and waved him off, grabbing the nearest chair to sit on. Was the room spinning or was it just her?

"Sam? Sam, are you ok?" Danny's voice was frantic with worry. She almost laughed.

"'Course, 'm fine…" she muttered.

Tucker finally came in with the first aid kit. It didn't take long to bandage up the cut on her cheek, but now that the excitement was over all she could think about was the freak out her parents were sure to have once they saw the bandage.

"…get your head checked out too." Oh. Danny was talking. Crap.

"Uh…" It took her a second to process what he said, but she narrowed her eyes once she did. "Nope. No, we're not getting my head checked out."

"Are you _kidding_ me? That ghost slammed you right into a wall!" Tucker waved his hands in the air. "What if you have a concussion or something?"

"Checking out my head means we go to a _doctor_. And if there _is_ something wrong, they'll tell my parents. And they'll freak out on you and ban me from seeing you guys. _Again_."

They both grimaced. All three friends know how terribly overprotective and stifling her parents are. There were many on and off times when they had banned her from seeing her friends, threatened to lock her home with tutors, and even send her to private schools across the sea. The months they could remember not being able to see Sam were _hell,_ to be blunt. Their trio never does feel the same without any of them.

"Listen I'll just…" Sam took a shuttering breath. "…go home and rest. Probably take some painkillers and by tomorrow I should be better."

Tucker and Danny glanced at each other, before turning back to her.

"I'll walk you home." Danny immediately offered. "In case you pass out."

Behind him, Tucker wiggled his eyebrows at her.

She probably would have blushed if she wasn't so tired.

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

He grinned. It was _adorable_.

The walk home was fast, though Sam had to hide whenever she felt like stumbling or blacking out (she definitely didn't want Danny insisting she go see a doctor again). And Danny…god he was a huge sweetheart about the whole thing. His worried, wide blue eyes (she was fairly sure that in some lights, it seemed to have a green tint) watched her intently, as if he could _tell_ she was a second away from passing out. Even so, he didn't push. Instead, trying to pull up whatever conversation he could – about school, movies coming out, that new book she liked, anything really. With her tired mind, she tried to respond as well as she could. Any starting conversations still ended up falling flat.

The sun was setting when they finally got to her door. The light was supposed to possibly be beautiful, but somehow, Danny looked for more eerie that afternoon. _Otherworldly._

Even in his human form, he somehow didn't seem to be entirely human anymore.

"See you at school tomorrow?" He asked with one of those cute, hopeful smiles of his. She almost expected for his voice to echo again. For his mouth to be closed but his _inhuman_ voice to be like static, bouncing around in her head.

Instead, she gave him a strained smile at best. "Well duh. I'm pretty sure my mom wants me to have a _perfect record_ this year."

He laughed. "I almost forgot. She's been aiming for you to have a perfect record since elementary school."

"And she hasn't succeeded." She turned to the door, opening it with her key and waving bye to him without turning back around (this is very cool. Trust her.) "See ya later, Danny." She slipped in as she heard him say goodbye as well.

"Samantha! There you are!"

Before she could escape up to her room, her mother came into the room, wearing her pristine red "around the house" dress, though still wearing her pearl earrings and rings. With the utmost drama of a rich housewife on a reality TV show, she practically threw herself at Sam with a hug. It nearly knocked the fourteen-year-old to the ground.

"I was so worried! You didn't call at all! You were probably 'hanging out' with those two boys, weren't you? I _knew_ they were a bad influence—!"

"Mom, I'm _fine_!" She wiggled and pulled out of her hold strong hold. "I'm just going up to my room and—"

"What is that bandage on your face?!"

Her arm was grabbed, stopping her from going up to her room. Her mother's grip almost hurt through her jacket as her mother looked over the bandage. The world spun in her eyes.

" _Sam_?"

"Mom I'm…fine…"

Her whole body seemed to shiver suddenly, as coldness was followed by _panic_. She couldn't see the ghosts anywhere but it was cold. So…so _cold_.

And then the world went black.

* * *

 **Am I mean? Just a bit.**

 **This chapter I just wanted to emphasize how dangerous the ghosts can be to humans if Danny and Phantom leave them to their own devices for too long. And I guess...how rightfully terrified Sam and Tucker are allowed to be of them.**

 **And I hope you guys don't mind those references I put in. You can't tell me a 14/15 year old girl who has possibly watched anime before doesn't have a Death Note notebook. Sam seems like the type.**

 **So, if you guys would like to contact me, ask a question, ask me to write a quick oneshot, or draw something, you can contact me on my Tumblr pandoradoodlebox. **

**I'll see you guys next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

Sam didn't show up to school the next day.

Of course, that worried Tucker and Danny _tremendously_ , but they knew better than to check on her while her parents were home. (Phantom had suggested they go without Tucker, since their powers would allow them to slip over undetected. Danny had thought about it, but it was still risky. He didn't want to be caught in her room by her parents or maids or whoever else.)

It was by lunch they got the text on the group chat from their phones. Hiding it under the table, Danny and Tucker quickly checked their phones side by side.

 **Sam: Ugh guys sorry I couldn't come to school today.**

 **Sam: I kinda…collapsed as soon as I got home.**

Danny's mouth dropped open in disbelief. When he was walking her home yesterday, he was so sure she felt _off_.

 **{We thought she was just tired after fighting off a ghost, and she kept insisting she was fine.}** Phantom supplied the explanation (or excuse, as Danny was telling himself), while sending a wave of comfort. **{We couldn't have known this would happen, and pushing it would have made her stubbornly refuse more.}**

Next to him, Tucker groaned. "So, she _was_ badly hurt!"

Unsuccessfully swallowing his guilt, Danny quickly typed out a response. Tucker was right behind him.

 **Danny: You COLLAPSED?!**

 **Tucker: So you did need a doctor!**

 **Sam: Well, I got to see a doctor anyway.**

 **Sam: My mom immediately called our doctor and apparently, I had a concussion.**

 **Tucker: Is now a good time to say I told you so?**

 **Danny: I'd wait until she's completely better Tuck.**

 **Sam: I bet you two are right next to each other. Dorks.**

 **Danny: Anyway, how long until you come back to school?**

 **Sam: Uhhhhhh well it depends.**

 **Tucker: On?**

 **Sam: My mom wants me to stay home for the week to make sure I fully heal. AND she's fully convinced this is your faults.**

 **Sam: And trust me I told her a BILLION times that it's mine**

 **Danny: What did you tell her happened?**

 **Sam: That we were hanging out at Tucker's house and when we were playing games we started roughhousing a bit.**

 **Tucker: S a m**

 **Sam: Well what do you WANT me to fucking say? How the hell was I supposed to explain the fact that I got a huge bruise on my side and a cut on my cheek AND a concussion?**

 **Danny: Soooo**

 **Sam: Sooooooo it wasn't THAT great of an excuse because we all know I would win any fight we have.**

 **Danny: Sure.**

 **Sam: You're weak Danny**

 **Danny: Sure I am.**

 **Sam: I could bench press you.**

 **Danny: …Ok I definitely agree with that.**

 **Danny: No sarcasm**

 **Sam: HA**

 **Tucker: Pffft if you two are done flirting…**

 **Tucker: How long are you gonna be away from school Sam?**

 **Sam: Like...a week at most if I can get my mom not to try and just get me to be homeschooled**

 **Danny: Ugh good luck.**

 **Tucker: Stay in high spirits Sam, you'll be back soon.**

 **Sam: Ah, to deal with A-listers and annoying teachers?**

 **Sam: The dream.**

 **Danny: And us**

 **Danny: You have to deal with our stupidity**

 **Sam: Ha yeah true**

 **Sam: Anyway, I'll text you guys later.**

 **Sam: I need to rest apparently**

 **Tucker: REST**

 **Danny: GET SOME REST SAM**

 **Sam: Oh for fucks sake FINE**

At the last sent message, Danny quickly pocketed his phone before a teacher nearby could notice it. Guilt was already starting to eat at him. He shouldn't have gotten Tucker or Sam involved in this – if only he'd been more careful! Instead of _just transforming in the middle of a hallway_ , why didn't he find a closet or slip into one of the lockers? He was small enough for them! Or, he could have at _least_ checked his phone while at the Doctor's office. Then Sam wouldn't be injured like this to the point of actually fainting.

 **{At least we know Sam will be alright soon…}** Guilt was coming from Phantom as well, though there was some doubt in his statement Danny did _not_ like. Before he could ask, Tucker nudged him.

"So, uh…what did your doctor say? About…?"

"Oh. Well…" He shifted in his seat. "The scars healed completely now and I don't have to take the pills anymore. Now I just have to just…deal with the pain when it comes. Which isn't often!" He quickly added, seeing Tucker's worried expression. "Like, it comes once a day now and sometimes it isn't bad."

"What do you do when it gets bad then?"

He shrugged, keeping his eyes firmly on his food. "Just sort of curl up and hope it goes away soon."

"Danny…"

 **{The pills were annoying anyway.}**

Repeating Phantom's words, he poked the mush that was supposed to be mashed potatoes. It was less mashed and more liquid.

"Well? Anything else?" Tucker pushed for a bit more. He paused, his own health wasn't really that important to him at the moment and the information the doctor practically dumped on him and Jazz was a bit hard to pull back up.

"Um…my temperature is apparently lower than it's supposed to be. Like 95 or 96 point something. And my heartrate is lower too. Because, you know, I'm not really alive." He stabbed the mush and stuffed it in his mouth. It was bland and tasteless.

"You're breathing and talking. That seems very 'alive' to me."

"…Thanks."

It was silent again with the somber mood. Danny stared at his food, his mind back to Sam. Repeatedly, the Ectopus kept wandering around their territory no matter how many times they were told not to. And now, they had even attacked their friends. He could feel Phantom's anger simmering just below his skin. His own anger matched it. His mind began to fill with dark thoughts of hunting those damn animalistic things and _ripping them to shreds—_

"Danny?" Tucker's fear-filled voice snapped them out of their collective thoughts.

They turned to him, their fists clenched and a growl in their voice. Their mouth moved, their voice echoed. " **What.** "

The other boy winced, before stuttering, "Dan-Danny…. Dude. C-Calm down. Your eyes are…and your voice…" They could tell Tucker was panicking. They could hear his heartbeat – how frantic and loud it was. They blinked a few times, frowning.

They took a few deep breaths. Calm. They – _he_ needed to calm down.

 **{Sorry.}** Phantom grumbled once their anger was in check. **{That's going to get annoying if we don't get that under control}**

 _Great. More work._ Danny rolled his eyes with clear exaggeration. Phantom chuckled.

He turned to Tucker. "Sorry…about that."

"Dude what _was that_?"

"Anger?" He shrugged, wincing. "I um…was thinking about the ghosts that attacked you and Sam."

 _Doesn't explain why I got to pissed at the idea of them still roaming the town…_

 **{Ghosts are very protective of their territories, or Lairs. If you come in uninvited it's pretty much a death sentence.}** Phantom supplied the explanation. A couple hazy memories popped up of Phantom narrowly getting away from murderous ghosts, screaming at him in anger for trespassing on their Lairs. **{I guess we see the whole town as our Lair}**

 _Huh. Weird._

"Oh um…by the way…" Tucker popped a carrot into his mouth. He chewed it carefully, seeming to hesitate on his next words. "You were right about that whole negative emotions equal ghost emotions thing."

"Tucker. What the hell are you talking about?" He raised an eyebrow. "How the hell do you _know that_? You don't study ghosts like my parents."

"No…but Sam and I were researching a bunch of stuff. Mostly ghost sightings and how they haunt people and stuff. So, we can figure out things we should possibly watch out for. And it seems ghosts are usually easily angered." He was rambling a bit, even blushing, and Danny couldn't help but feel…touched.

But then it dawned on him.

"…was _that_ why you and Sam were avoiding me all week?"

"Yeah, basically." Tucker glanced at him apologetically. "We wanted to get it done as soon as possible. There were a lot of articles to look through."

Though he was still touched, memories of them evading him to go to the library and hardly talking to him after school still creeped up in his mind. Phantom hissed.

 **{They should have said something! We thought they were scared of us!}** Usually Phantom was all jokes about the whole thing, but…they were still the same person. In a way, they shared similar feelings. Despite not talking about it, Phantom was just as affected by their absence as he was.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me _earlier_?" Danny snapped. Tucker winced, and he forced himself to calm down. He didn't want his anger to match Phantom's and scare him again. "I thought you guys were avoiding me!"

"We didn't _mean to_ we just wanted to—"

"Wanted to help. I _get it_." His voice was a growl. Tucker was looking away from him. "I thought you two were _afraid of me_ and that's why you were avoiding me."

He still wasn't looking at him. Danny's blood ran colder than it already was. Phantom was suddenly silent, almost in horror.

"You two _are_ afraid of me, aren't you? Terrified, even." He whispered. He looked at his food. He wasn't hungry anymore. All he could think was, _I knew it._

"Well—well you can't blame us, can you? You don't see yourself in your ghost form. Or when you get angry."

He _has_ seen Phantom - multiple times in front of his room mirror while they argued about the changes they could make to their outfit. Sure, the first time had been weird ( _you_ try seeing your freckles and eyes glow and not think it's odd) but after a while he had gotten used to the white hair and green eyes.

It's been a week, and in a way, he was already used to Phantom.

But Sam and Tucker…they weren't. They'd only seen Phantom or "his ghost form" twice. And out of the two times, Phantom had only talked to them once. And he was still _him_ just… _not him_ at the same time.

(It was hard to put together, even in his head, but he just _understood._ )

He glared into his plate and stood up. "I'm gonna go." He grumbled, still not looking at Tucker as he went to throw his plate in the trash. He didn't want to face Tucker or Sam, even if their fear was justified and even if he still felt guilty over this whole thing.

So, he found a quiet corner to sit at while waiting for the bell to ring.

 **{…I'm sorry Danny.}**

 _It's not your fault._

O~O~O

"Well _that_ could have gone better." Tucker grumbled to himself, a guilty pang in his chest as he pushed his mashed potatoes to the side. After Danny grumpily stormed off he wasn't exactly in the mood to eat (that, and he was _pretty sure_ that weird, brown lump was a dead bug).

Now Danny really thought they hated him.

Glancing behind him to make sure a teacher wasn't looking (the two who were supposed to be watching students happened to be talking to each other, and totally ignoring the teenagers), he slipped out his phone and sent a quick text to Sam.

 **You: Uhhh…red alert.**

 **You: …Danny knows we're afraid of him and he's upset**

 **Sam: FOR FUCKS SAKE TUCKER**

 **You: Hey aren't you supposed to be sleeping?**

 **Sam: resting** **isn't the same as sleeping**

 **Sam: I can't believe this!**

 **Sam: What the fuck!**

 **Sam: See this is why I didn't want to tell him or be afraid of him!**

 **Sam: Now he's going to be upset forever**

 **You: Sam you're exaggerating**

 **You: Danny will come around**

 **Sam: His best friends are fucking SCARED OF HIM Tuck how the hell will he come around**

 **You: He will!**

 **You: Just uh…don't text him. He'll freak out**

 **Sam: Because he's upset?**

 **You: Well yeah**

 **You: AND YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE RESTING**

 **Sam: OH FUCK OFF.**

 **Sam: Ugh I'll call him later then.**

 **Sam: But you better come up with an idea to fix this Tuck you piece of shit**

 **You: I will! I will! Jeez.**

"Hey, Tech-geek, where'd the Freak go?"

Tucker nearly groaned aloud. He texted Sam a quick, "Dash trouble. Gotta go." Before turning to the star quarterback. For a little while, after the Accident, he'd actually been pretty tame. Mostly avoiding their group (possibly because they weren't acting as a trio very much lately), probably as some form of…respect?

"What do you want, Dash?" He tried to use the same nonchalance annoyance as Danny usually did with the boy who's been bullying them since middle school. But it didn't work as well. He scrunched up too much and avoided their gaze.

"I think you and Fenton have gotten too comfortable." Dash said cockily. "I need to give you two a little reminder."

"Uh…" Tucker winced. He usually just got pushed into lockers and had books knocked out of his hand. Or tripped in class or had his glasses stolen from him and hidden while he stumbled around trying to find it. Danny though – Danny was the one who got the physical blows. Before the Accident, it was frequent that Danny would spend the time between lunch and his next class trying to conceal bruises from punches.

Seeing Dash was still looking at him, he shifted. "I don't know where he is."

"Oh, come _on_ , of _course_ you know where Fenton is." He jabbed his finger on his chest. "And if you won't tell me, I guess you'll have to be his substitute for the day."

Oh god. Tucker could feel the blood drain from his face.

He couldn't take a punch. Danny could. Sam _definitely_ could. (According to Danny, her right hook is worse than Dash's on a good day.) And Dash knew that.

But there was no way he'd tell him where Danny was – even if he _did_ know.

"Look," Tucker tried to have Sam's bite in his words. Didn't work out as well but the message was clear. "I'm not going to sell out my friend."

Dash scowled. In a quick movement, his lunch ended up on the ground. "Fine! I'll find the loser myself."

The bully stalked off, and Tucker sighed as he looked at his food. It was worth it, even if his stomach growled in protest.

O~O~O

Danny sighed, curled up in a corner. It wasn't that far from where he was eating lunch, but with how small he was he was usually easily overlooked by anyone walking by.

In his head, Phantom sighed. **{What a mess.}**

 _I can't believe they're afraid of us._ Danny frowned. _We look exactly the same!_

 **{They just haven't gotten used to us yet.}** Phantom's soothing waves were almost making him sleepy. He sent him a mental swat that just made the ghost chuckle. **{Listen, how about we just skip school for today?}**

 _Jazz and my parents will kill us. They'd make us deader than we are now._

That joke rewarded him with a soft laugh. **{Not if they don't find out about it. I mean, think about it. We're getting out of boring classes and having to see Tucker** _ **and**_ **we'll get to fly around. You know, our favorite thing to do.}**

Danny couldn't hold back a small smile. "You mean _your_ favorite thing to do." He muttered into his knees.

 **{And you're me. Meaning it's your favorite too.}** He could feel Phantom's grin. With a laugh, he stood.

"Alright, alright. You win." He closed his eyes, sighing softly as the glow washed over him, pushing Phantom to the front. _Where are we going?_

 **{Anywhere.}** Phantom threw their backpack over his shoulder and flew up into the sky, leaving the school and heading above the air to town. It looked ready to rain. He couldn't feel any worry from Phantom over it though. Possibly because he couldn't remember the feeling of being sick. **{We have a couple hours until we have to be home.}**

… _think the Nasty Burger will let a ghost order food?_

Phantom laughed aloud at that. The sound was strange outside his head, as it was Danny's laugh yet _not_. It was filled with static, and if you tried to listen to closely the static seemed to be louder than the laugh itself. It bounced around his head and into the open air. For some reason, it sounded just right. It sounded like _Phantom_. It was…actually pretty comforting.

 **{Let's see if they will! We have money, they can't exactly refuse.}**

After throwing on the jacket Danny keeps in his backpack, and putting up the hood, Phantom actually looked vaguely like a normal teenager. Well, without the white hair and glowing features of course.

Landing in the parking lot, Phantom actually didn't give him control. Instead, he merely slipped inside the fast food restaurant, which had a bit of people there despite normally being a place that the high schoolers hang out. Probably because it _was_ the lunch rush.

 _Phantom?_

 **{Shhh.}** It was hard to tell if Phantom was merely whispering to him, or speaking in his mind. His voice didn't sound any different. **{I want to try eating while we're in this form.}**

 _But-_

Phantom shushed him again and walked up to the girl behind the register. She gave him a look over and whistled. "Damn, those are some cool effects on your skin. And where'd you get contacts to make your _eyes_ glow?"

Phantom grinned – flashing fangs that looked a bit too real. But the girl merely seemed impressed. Danny just rolled his eyes. He could feel Phantom hold back a chuckle.

 **{One number four please.}** He pulled out a twenty to slide over to her. Either she didn't notice how inhuman his voice was, or she just thought it was a part of whatever costume he had on. Two seconds later, he got his change back and in less than ten minutes he got his cheeseburger as well as a seat in the darkest corner of the restaurant where no one would stare. But, with the glowing features and dark clothes, they probably attracted more stares than they hoped.

 _Do you really think you can actually eat that?_ Danny couldn't help but feel curious as he watched through Phantom's eyes. He knew, vaguely, that Phantom could taste whatever he ate. But ghosts don't need food. Theoretically, they can't digest food.

But, theoretically, humans can't become half-ghost.

 **{Here goes nothing.}** There was a giddiness to his voice as he picked up the cheeseburger. He opened his mouth and took a large bite. His fangs easily pierced through the meat and as he chewed the flavor burst through his mouth. Danny could feel Phantom shiver slightly, moaning a bit in appreciation. He tried to chew slowly, but Danny could feel the excitement and _want_ and _hunger_ from not eating from since the day of his death.

Within seconds, the cheeseburger was done, and he practically inhaled the fries that went with it.

 **{God that was good.}** Phantom let out a soft sigh as he went intangible and sank through the floor. **{I forgot how good eating was.}**

 _You looked like you enjoyed it._ Danny couldn't help but smile cheekily. _If I had known how hungry you were I would have snuck you more food._

 **{We share a stomach so it's not like I really** _ **needed**_ **it.}** Phantom chuckled, slipping into invisibility as he lazily floated through the back of the greasy restaurant, into a storage area. It was fairly hot, something Danny would usually be able to take but Phantom grimaced, seeming extremely uncomfortable.

 _What's wrong?_

 **{I hate when it's hot.}** Phantom grumbled. **{It's unbearable. I prefer the cold.}**

 _Isn't that just because you're a ghost…?_

 **{Shush.}** He felt a mental swat. It was weird – it didn't really _hurt_ but he could feel something, almost like a hand brushing against his shoulder. No wonder Phantom laughed every time he would do the same thing. **{There are a bunch of ghosts who like it hot instead of cold.}**

 _Sure, there are._ He was mentally hit again. He didn't bother holding back a laugh.

Phantom laughed with him. God, it was loud. And contagious. Once again it bounced around in his head and against the walls.

It was a sound he could get addicted to, if he wasn't careful.

Then, a familiar _coldness_ ran through their body, smoke came from their mouth, and with that, a new voice echoed through the room.

" **Who dares disturb me in my compartment of square containers?!"**

O~O~O

Phantom nearly groaned aloud moving out of his laying position in midair to a standing one, flipping down the hood of Danny's jacket as he turned to where the voice came from. From the boxes, a short man (practically his height) wearing a uniform, vaguely reminding them of someone who does package deliveries. The name tag on his uniform was scratched out, making whatever name that could have been completely unknown. With his eerily blue skin and the way he was floating in midair, it was obvious that he was a ghost.

A new opponent. Great.

He was _hoping_ he would get the chance to hang out with Danny, especially since he's obviously bummed out from the drama with his friends. But, fighting is fine too.

Phantom crossed his arms, glaring the ghost down. Anger, built up from the Ectopus invading _his_ territory so many times was just amplified more seeing this new ghost. **{Who the hell are you?}**

" **I am the Box Ghost!"** The Ghost waved his hands in the air, in what he guessed was _supposed_ to be a scary fashion. **"I hold command of all cubic containers!"**

 **{Oh, you've gotta be kidding me.}** He and Danny said at the same time. He didn't know whether to laugh or get annoyed. **{Listen…}** His voice lowered to a growl. **{This town is** _ **my**_ **territory and you're** _ **intruding**_ **. So, I suggest you leave before I get any** _ **angrier**_ **.}**

" **No** _ **Child**_ **will command anything of me!"** The Box Ghost's hands began to glowas did the boxes around him, causing them to float up in the air. Despite being things like extra napkins and packets of ketchup Phantom could still sense the ectoplasmic energy around them, making them stronger weapons than they seemed. **"You will be the one to leave this area!"**

Crouching into a battle-ready position, he felt Danny getting ready in the back of his mind as well, helping with the control of their core.

 **{I'd really like to see you try.}** And with that, he flew directly at the Ghost, ready to take out the anger they were both feeling through well-placed punches.

Or, at least, his fist _would have_ collided with the Box Ghost's face if a box hadn't hit him first. It felt like steel had hit him instead of simple cardboard, making him fly back and to the ground.

 _Ow._

Phantom's groan matched the sentiment. Above him, the Box Ghost laughed.

" **You now see the superiority of shippable containers!"**

 **{Shut** _ **up**_ **.}** His voice was a growl again.

He easily moved back to floating up, now watching the Ghost a bit more closely as he flew right back into the fray. The floating boxes were hurled at him, but now that he was _actually_ paying attention, it was much easier to dodge them (or merely, go intangible for a moment). Despite being powered by ghost energy, they _were_ still just boxes. As soon as Phantom got close enough, he grabbed the Box Ghost and gave him a solid punch in the face.

Around him, the boxes fell with a loud _bang_ – definitely alerting anyone nearby of the ruckus. In the distance, Phantom could definitely hear exclaims of surprise, employees trying to get each other to enter the room they were in. A little louder there was also a…ringtone? A familiar song to Danny's ears, some popular rock song that somehow reminded them of Sam.

 _Phantom we have to_ _go_ _._

Phantom grimaced. He took a glance at the Box Ghost, and at a split decision he went intangible, taking a second of concentration to force the Box Ghost to become intangible as well. He threw the Ghost out the closest wall (ignoring the scream that followed) before flying out through the same wall.

O~O~O

Avery, having lost the game of rock, paper, scissors, shakily opened the door to the storage room. Who knows who could have managed to wander in there? It wasn't like their manager ever really remembered to lock the other door. And she _really_ didn't want to deal with some homeless guy.

But, the room was empty. Other than what seemed to be boxes that had fallen over, there was no trace that anyone else was in there.

With a loud sigh of relief, she closed the door. She'd have that asshole Jeff clean it later.

O~O~O

 **{Where the hell did he go?!}**

The Box Ghost, somehow, had managed to slip away from him in the second they were separated.

Phantom groaned in annoyance, running a hand through his hair and bunching up into a ball, letting himself spin slowly in air for a bit. **{I can't be** _ **lieve**_ **he got away. Where did he even go?}**

 _No clue. We really need a way to trap these ghosts instead of just scaring them off. They're definitely not going back to the Ghost Zone just because we ask nicely._

The ghost chuckled, slowly unraveling himself. **{Oh, please, Ghosts,}** he began, making his voice almost annoyingly polite. **{Can you please go back to the Ghost Zone? The humans here are** _ **extremely**_ **inconvenienced by you guys coming all the time.}**

Danny was giggling – not that he'd ever admit it, though Phantom felt a wave of fondness though he couldn't tell who it was from.

 _We promise you, we're_ _extremely_ _scary and will growl at you more than once if you don't leave._

Phantom's laughter grew louder. **{Do I really growl that much?}**

 _Oh my god, you're like an angry dog._

 **{A** _ **dog**_ **?}** He wasn't sure whether to be annoyed by that or amused. He decided to stick with amused. **{Aren't you like a dog too then? I'd say you're like a cute little puppy.}**

 _Cute little…?!_

The rock-themed ringtone started up again, coming from Danny's bag; keeping Phantom from fully admiring how flustered his human had gotten. He easily opened a side pocket, pulling it out to find a picture of Sam smirking for the camera, with "Sam Calling" above it.

 _Oh...it's Sam._

 **{Isn't she supposed to be resting?}** He paused for a moment. The ringtone went on. **{Do you want to talk to her?}**

 _No, you should. They need to get used to you._

Phantom sighed. He was 100% sure they would _never_ get used to him. They didn't even really know about him. Still, he obeyed Danny's wishes and answered the phone.

 **{Hello…?}**

O~O~O

Sam shivered at the voice that answered her on the other end of the phone. "D-Danny? That's you, right?"

 _ **{Why wouldn't it be me?}**_ There was mischief behind the words. The phone crackled as if he was just out of range.

"No reason…" She took a deep breath. _Come on, Manson, you can do this._ "I um…heard what Tucker told you earlier…"

 **{Oh. That.}** He sounded dejected. She felt even worse. **{Called to tell me just how scared you are?}**

"Oh god, _no,_ of course not!" She bit her lip, holding herself back from nearly yelling. Who knew if her parents could hear her or not. "Look, I know you probably feel…betrayed…"

 **{You and Tucker are the only ones who know about this and you're afraid. Why wouldn't I feel betrayed?}**

"Would you _listen_ to me?" She snapped. " _Anyway,_ we're still here for you. We want to help you with…all of this. We might be…scared but we're more scared _for_ you and we'll be here for you, ok?"

Danny was quiet for a moment. She felt her heart pound in her chest.

 **{…thank you, Sam.}**

She nearly sighed aloud in relief. "No problem."

 **{Now go** _ **rest**_ **, for fucks sake.}** She could feel Danny's grinbehind the words, despite the worry. **{Resting includes not calling your friends when they're supposed to be at school.}**

She grinned, then faltered as she processed what he just said. " _Supposed_ to be? Where the hell are you if you aren't at school?"

 **{…uhhh I have to go Sam-}**

" _Danny, if you skipped school-!"_

Danny hung up on her. She scowled and threw her phone to the end of the bed. He was out, probably flying around town, and she was _stuck in bed_.

That _piece of shit_.

O~O~O

Being a part of the family of the infamous Fentons, Jazz was usually talked to about anything that had to do with Danny before her parents were. Which, of course, was fine, since she _definitely_ understood. She was pretty sure they would end of talking about ghosts instead of Danny. They even ended up scaring away their middle school teachers, and Jazz was 100% sure that rumors about them ended up circulating to high school.

So, since her parents are "busy" (or at least that's what teachers told her), she was usually the one given any information on Danny before it could go back to her parents.

Basically, her parents are a last resort.

But it was fine. Danny hardly does anything to warrant a lecture from their parents. He wasn't exactly the kind of student _she_ was (aka, a genius, or whatever else people tended to call her) but he wasn't a _delinquent_.

Sure, he's been acting… _oddly_ lately, but she chalked that up to the recent Accident he seemed to be refusing to talk about. (He's _fourteen_ and he nearly _died_ because their parents are so obsessed with _something that isn't real_! And he refused to talk about any of it!) Mostly he's just been so…moody and irritable. Maybe she should be a little more…tactful when questioning him about his trauma…

But, still, even with all this, she never would have guessed that Danny would go as far as to skip half of school!

His teacher, Mr. Lancer, had told her just as she was going to one of her after school activities. Apparently, after his lunch period, he had practically disappeared from school grounds. Which was odd, since _Tucker_ was still in school the whole day. Sam wasn't, as she was out for the week due to some accident that happened.

( _Danny's eyes widened as he listened to the voicemails left over on his phone – from Tucker, apparently. But the frantic horror on his face didn't match what Jazz would assume a call from Tucker would entail. She asked him what was wrong, but he didn't answer. He merely shook his head, sputtered something about how he had to go and ran down the street. Jazz had tried to follow but he had, oddly, disappeared as soon as she turned down the same street. Later on, he appeared back at home, quietly accepting a cup of tea but not explaining why guilt was etched into his face. For once, Jazz decided not to pry._ )

As she pulled up to their very visible apartment building, she bit her lip, thinking. Does she ask Danny about this…?Obviously, with or without her help, or even really realizing it, Danny was definitely trying to find a way to cope with his trauma. She knows there is a… _danger_ to coping methods – some were very self-destructive.

…Maybe she was overthinking things…

With a sigh, she opened the front door easily. "I'm home!" She called, looking towards the stairs with the knowledge that Danny would be most likely in his room.

"Hi sweetie!" Her mother's voice, from the kitchen, nearly made her scream in surprise. She immediately turned to see her working over a…thermos? The sound of metal hitting metal came from the soup container softly as she worked on it. Jazz wondered, faintly, if the thermos was one of the extra ones laying around. Or, if it was one of her own or Danny's…

"Mom! You're…" she paused, biting her lip as she realized the last of her sentence, _"out of the lab,_ " would have come out in far too bitter of a tone. Though, she was allowed to be. Since the Accident, they practically _lived_ down there, looking over that stupid portal of theirs that nearly _killed_ her little brother…

Her mother paused, looking up from the thermos and pushing up her goggles. "…how was school?"

"Oh, same old, same old." She tried to say as casually as possible, hoping her mother wouldn't notice how her voice raised an octave. (She really was terrible at lying.) Her gaze turned to the staircase – _if only she could escape…_

"Are you sure?" Mom raised an eyebrow, and Jazz held back a groan.

"Of course! Listen, Mom, I've got a _lot_ of homework…" Which wasn't _untrue,_ even though she knew she could finish it all in under an hour if she wanted.

Her mother was silent for a moment, opening and closing her mouth as if she was trying to find something to say, before sighing.

"Jazz, is Danny at Tucker's or Sam's house?" She finally asked. Jazz felt her blood run cold.

"At – why would you ask?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Well…I didn't see him come home and he obviously didn't come back with you…Jazz, is Danny _ok_?"

Jazz hardly heard her, only focusing on the fact that _Danny wasn't back yet._ Where was he? He _knows_ when school ends. He's smart enough to at least come home and _fake_ like he'd went to half his classes!

" _Jasmine_!"

The harsh voice snapped her back to reality, and with a jolt, Jazz realized her mother had the same frantic, panicked expression she did.

"Danny is _ok_ , right?"

"I…y-yeah of course he is! I just…thought he was home but I think he might have told me he was visiting Sam today." She laughed nervously, stepping back from her mother's soul-searching stare. "Maybe you just…missed him? I'll go check his room for him!"

"Jazz-"

The redhead bolted up the stairs before her mother could ask any more. She didn't look back to see if she had followed, only stopping once she reached the door of Danny's room. Inside, she could hear a voice, muffled by the wood. It seemed… _odd_ but she didn't think about it. Instead, she just opened the door. "Danny?"

At the desk, the figure hidden under a blanket paused. Loud noises and bright flashes came from the computer – _Doomed_. The figure turned his swivel chair, and the blanket fell, making Danny's black, messy hair go in all directions. He blinked at her – and she noticed he was wearing one of his black jackets while under the blankets. Odd. His confusion turned into a scowl quickly, especially when she stepped in, closing the door behind her.

"You know, you could _knock_."

Her eyes narrowed, and she crossed her arms, trying to pull her best "disappointed mom" glare.

"You _skipped school._ "

He paused, then wincing before looking away, grumbling, "…it was only _half a day_ of school." He glanced up to her, "How the _hell_ did you find out?"

"Language," She dryly reminded him. He merely stared her down, obviously waiting for his answer. She sighed. "Your teacher – Mr. Lancer? – told me."

" _Lancer_." He hissed, exaggeratedly glaring into the distance. Jazz had to bite her lip to keep from laughing and hold her scolding expression.

"Danny, listen, you can't just… _skip school_ after missing a _whole week_ of classes! That's too much work to miss and your grades will slip and you're not even _thinking_ about the days when your pains will be bad and you won't even want to go to school—" At the deepening scowl, Jazz stopped, letting out another tired sigh. "…I'm just worried about you Danny. I just. You were _electrocuted_ and you nearly _died_ and…I'm just _worried_ how it might be _affecting_ you—"

"You think the _Accident_ is why I skipped school?" Danny's voice was soft, but she could _feel_ the growing anger behind his words. "You just came to _lecture me_ about that again?"

"Danny, I—"

His glare felt like ice – did they turn green for a moment there? – and he near growled, "I'm _fine_ , Jazz! I couldn't stand school for the day and I needed to be alone. So, I went to eat at the Nasty Burger and walk around. I didn't do anything dangerous!"

"…oh." She felt…bad. Incredibly bad. And now, Danny was definitely mad at her again, with the way he was glaring at the ground just at her feet. Dang it. "…Just. Be safe. And come down to say hi to mom. She missed you when you came home earlier."

His eyes snapped up. "Mom's out of the lab? _Why_?"

Jazz couldn't help the small laugh that came out of her. "Your guess is as good as mine, but I guess I'll finally get a rest from making dinner."

That got a chuckle out of him. "…I'll be down in a minute. Just have to beat this quickly."

" _Sure_ ," she rolled her eyes, knowing for a fact "quickly" means an hour. She turned to the door, now calmer, and closed the door behind her. Even afterwards, she could hear Danny…talking out loud? Did he call Tucker or Sam?

…odd.

* * *

 **Phantom is incredibly fun to write - especially as I'm trying to make him his own character. I hope you guys like how I'm characterizing him.**

 **Also, about Maddie and Jack...in this fanfic they are...not _abusive_ or anything, they love their children and try but they are very focused on their work - more than they are focused on their children. So yes, they can be neglectful towards them but I'm...going to do my hardest to have a balance towards being both loving and neglectful.**

 **I'm having fun with Jazz too. I rewatched a few episodes of DP to try and get a better idea of how she treats Danny - and gosh I forgot how much I actually adore her. Poor girl has no idea how much stress over Danny I'm going to put on her before she finds out what's going on.**

 **So anyway, if you guys would like to contact me, ask a question, ask me to write a quick oneshot, or draw something, you can contact me on my Tumblr pandoradoodlebox**


	5. Chapter 5

"Are you ok, Danny?"

"Uh…yeah?" Danny looked up from the first mom-made dinner he and Jazz have had since the Accident (maybe even a bit before that), just in time to see his mother pour him some extra juice. She stared at him like she expected him to faint. "…I've _been_ fine the first _ten_ times you asked…" He grumbled as he sipped his freshly poured juice.

Jazz kicked him under the table, clearing her throat in a clear message of, _"behave."_

" _Ow_." He glared at her pointedly, but that was a clear mistake. His Dad was already looking over at him in worry and his Mom had practically teleported over to his side, holding his face as if he was made of glass.

"What happened? Are you ok? Do you need anything?"

" _No_ ," he pulled away from his mother's hold, internally groaning at the fact that he'd have to deal with Jazz's overbearingness – only _Mom edition_. "Mom, I'm _fine_." Under the table, he held himself up as he felt his feet begin to sink through the floor. Phantom chuckled softly at his poor luck.

 _Shut up._ He huffed back. _You're no help._

Phantom sent him an image of him sticking his tongue out at him. He let out a small snort into his beans, biting his bottom lip to hold back a chuckle.

"Danny-boy!" His Dad slammed a hand onto his back, nearly toppling him over. Still, Danny managed to stay solidly into his seat, waving off how Jazz and his Mom immediately scolded Dad for not being careful. To Danny, this was more than fine. It just showed at least _one_ person wasn't treating him like _glass_.

"Uh, need something Dad?"

His dad grinned at him. "I was thinking, since you're getting interested in ghosts," _oh no,_ "that you and your friends," **{Oh god no,}** "could come down to see the ghost portal and all our new inventions!"

Danny bit back a loud groan; Jazz let out an indignant cry, " _Dad_ , I can't _believe_ you!"

" _What_? We cleaned up the lab! It's safe!"

"It's _way_ too soon for Danny to go back down there! He's still _traumatized_ from the _last_ experience—"

"Hey! I'm not _traumatized_! Would you stop using your stupid psychology stuff on me?" He snapped at her, before turning to his Dad; his harsh expression turned to something softer, more sheepish. "Um, sorry Dad…but Sam's kinda home for the week. So, we can't..."

"Then we can do it next week!"

 _I guess there's no getting out of this one…_

 **{Maybe it'll be fun. We can get a nap in if Tucker doesn't fall asleep first.}**

 _Dad is oblivious enough for all three of us to fall asleep and he won't complain_. He pointed out, holding back another chuckle.

After dinner, Danny was more than ready to head back to his room, curl up under his blanket and let Phantom take over for a round of Doomed (he wanted to play and it wasn't like he had any reason to say no). But just as he threw his plate into the sink, and turned to leave the kitchen, his Mom called out, "Danny?"

He paused, filled with sudden paranoia. Did she find out? Did she _know_ somehow? Had she seen his fork fall through his fingers while he was trying to eat…? Maybe the weird power where no one notices his ghostly changes doesn't _work_ on her somehow?

Phantom was still buzzing with paranoia as he turned around. "Uh wh-what's up Mom?"

"I was just wondering…why is Sam home all week? Is she sick?" Her voice was filled with motherly concern, Danny immediately felt guilty for suddenly being so afraid of her. He blamed Phantom.

"Kind of? Uh…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "She…has a concussion."

"A _concussion_? What happened?"

 _Oh, you know, a ghost was attacking her and Tucker and I didn't show up until the ghost was literally killing her._

Obviously, he couldn't _say that_. He was one hundred percent sure she would immediately try to track down the ghost. Or, better yet, go to her _house_ to her _parents_ and check to see if she was _possessed_ or something. (They've done it before. It was a nightmare.)

"Well…we were joking around at Tucker's house…" he began, looking at the floor next to his Mom's feet instead of her, well aware that she could tell whenever he was lying _and_ he knew he was a bad liar.

He could still _feel_ his Mom's disappointed frown. " _And_?"

"…and we were…kinda roughhousing...and she hit her head against the wall."

"Danny!"

"I know, I'm sorry." If he got grounded for this, Sam definitely owed him one.

 **{Well we are kind of the reason she got the concussion in the first place, so we'd be even.}**

… _well you…aren't wrong._

"I walked her home though." He quickly added, seeing the growing disappointment on his mother's face. "She kept insisting she was _fine_ but…I knew she wasn't. But she didn't let us take her to a clinic or anything…"

She sighed. "…You still should have insisted on taking her to a doctor sooner than that Danny. And after...the Accident…you shouldn't be _roughhousing_ with your friends like you're five."

He winced.

 **{If only we could see her reaction if she knew we were** _ **fighting**_ **ghosts in our spare time…}**

 _And flying around town at night._ Danny chipped in, squirming a bit under his mother's judgmental gaze.

After a moment, she finally sighed. "…Danny, I won't ground you for this… _for now_. _But_ , you _do_ have to sit and let your father talk to you and your friends about ghosts next week. While paying attention the whole time."

This time, he did groan out loud. He almost wished she _had_ actually grounded him.

"Mom you can't be _serious_."

"Oh, I am _very_ serious – don't _pout_ at me young man," he dropped his expression – cheeks flushing in embarrassment, "you aren't five. Now, you better go upstairs tell your friends they're coming next week for your father's…lecture."

With a loud sigh, he turned and headed to his room, closing the door behind him and in a flash of light, Phantom took over.

 **{That could have gone worse.}** He said as he floated over to the computer, grabbing the blanket on the way and throwing it over his head, messing with the white locks even more.

Danny sighed. _I mean, I_ _guess_ _. At least Mom didn't automatically assume it was a ghost._

Phantom chuckled, grabbing the controller. **{Yeah that's Dad's job.}** He stared at the screen for a moment and cocked his head to the side. **{Hey, can I make my own Doomed account?}**

 _Wait, why?_

 **{Obviously, my character will do much better than yours and I don't want people to wonder why you suck sometimes and why you're better other times.}**

 _You asshole._ Danny let out a small laugh. _Fine. Do what you want._

He watched silently as Phantom quickly created a new account and called himself GhostBoy – how original – then blasted through the tutorial and jumped right into the first level of the game. For a ghost who was technically doing this for the first time, he was pretty good. His reaction times, at least, were good enough to evade powerful players and he grabbed upgrades to his armor easily. His armor, by time he was done, looked fairly similar to the suit they wear.

 **{This is pretty easy. How do you and Tucker die all the time?}**

 _Other players sneaking up on us mostly. And stupid decisions. Like one time I accidentally pushed Tucker off a cliff._

Phantom laughed. **{How did you** _ **accidentally**_ **do that?}**

 _No clue, but it happened._ Danny couldn't help but laugh. _We got pretty far too. Tucker wouldn't look at me for at least a week after that._

Phantom let out another laugh, his in-game character hid behind a wall and shot a player trying to sneak up on him.

 _Nice._

 **{Thanks.}**

Before he could move on, another familiar-looking player approached, doing a wave emote. Phantom cocked his head to the side, blinking, and it took a moment before he waved back.

 _What a meaningful exchange._

Phantom's face seemed to get…colder. It would be only later that Danny would realize that was his version of _blushing_. He answered with a quick huff, **{Shut up.}**

The chat pinged with a notification of a private message, and Phantom opened it to see the message was from the player in front of him.

 **FryerTuck: Hey! New player?**

 **GhostBoy: …Tucker?**

 **FryerTuck: ?**

 **FryerTuck: Do I know you?**

 **GhostBoy: …it's Danny.**

 **FryerTuck: Oh!**

 **FryerTuck: Nice…new character.**

 **FryerTuck: Can I call you?**

 **GhostBoy: …yeah.**

 **{Want to switch?}** Phantom immediately asked as he grabbed their phone.

 _No, you took a phone call with Sam and you did pretty well. You can do the same with Tucker._

 **{I guess.}** He sighed, almost dramatically, and answered immediately when Tucker's ringtone blared from his phone. **{Hey Tuck}**

O~O~O

Tucker will be the first to admit – he, in all honesty, was one hundred percent completely avoiding Danny. Just for the day. He _knew_ he would have to confront him at some point and talk to him about the whole "being afraid of him" thing. But why do _that_ when Doomed was accessible and a way to run away from the problems or reality?

Luckily, when he logged into Doomed, Danny wasn't online, so he spent some time grinding and grabbing upgrades. He tried to avoid new players in the early levels, though some of them he offered advice (he _is_ a pretty generous player after all) but one player caught his eye. They were very obviously a newbie, but they also played with more precision than he's seen in other new players. He watched very clearly as they even hid and _killed_ another player like they belonged on a higher level. Did someone who was further down the levels make a new character…?

It was a great opportunity to form a quick alliance, and he immediately went over to great the newbie…

…and it was Danny.

Which was _odd_ since he knew Danny didn't particularly like working from the ground up over and over again. Since they started playing Doomed he's _never_ seen Danny make new characters on the side, not even for fun.

Still…now he really had no excuse not to at least _attempt_ to talk to Danny. And he seemed open. So…he called.

 **{Hey Tuck}**

Without even meaning to, his whole body shivered like a cold wind had gone through the room. "Uh…h-hey Danny."

Danny sighed. **{So, you're still scared, huh?}**

He paused, and took a deep breath. _I won't get anywhere by lying_. "…yeah. A little. I mean, I _know_ you won't hurt me or anything. You're _Danny_ and even if you're…basically a ghost, I've known you for years. It's just an adjustment now I guess…"

 **{I can talk to you guys more often then – as a ghost, I mean.}** He added quickly, stumbling over his words a bit but Tucker could tell he was happy. Well, happier than earlier. **{So you get used to it.}**

"Yeah, sure!" If he was going to get used to his best friend being dead and a supernatural creature, might as well get thrusted headfirst into it. "So uh…are _you_ getting used to it then?"

 **{…yeah.}**

"Is _that_ why you're sitting in ghost form playing Doomed?"

Danny let out a surprised laugh – but it was… _odd_. It wasn't any kind of laugh that Tucker has ever heard before. It was…like trying to listen for noise in static. The more he listened the more static just came through. And when he didn't focus, the laugh echoed, bouncing around in his head. It wasn't _malicious_ – thank god – but it still rubbed him the wrong way. It just gave off a complete vibe of _"not Danny."_

This "getting used to the new ghost Danny" thing was definitely going to take a while.

 **{I guess you could say that.}** Danny spoke suddenly, and he forced himself to pay attention again. **{…we can play and get my character more upgrades.}**

Tucker couldn't help but grin. "I'd _love_ to play."

Mission success.

O~O~O

The rest of the week wasn't as eventful as Danny thought it would be, to his relief. Of course, there were still a couple of the Ectopus roaming around (which made Phantom – and by extension, Fenton - angrier and more agitated with every second), and their parents had gone from guiltily staying in their lab to watching Danny with a critical eye. For a while, Phantom's paranoia pulled at his own, until they were both so worried that their parents _knew_ they were half-ghost that they went out of their way to avoid them more than usual. He hardly even _noticed_ the week had ended until Sam and Tucker practically appeared at their door Sunday afternoon, carrying a few notebooks.

"Sam?" He sputtered in surprise. She seemed much, _much_ better. The last time they had talked face to face, she was so _pale_ and ready to collapse. Now, she did seem pale, but it wasn't as bad as a week ago. In fact, he probably wouldn't have even noticed she was so pale if it wasn't for a fact that she's wearing all black. And, hidden just by the strands of her hair, was the scar left by the ghost. It was still slightly red and didn't look at all like it was finished healing – the sight of it left a pang of pure guilt.

"What? I _told_ you and Tuck I'd only be out for a week." She slipped right past him, like she normally did whenever she came over. He met eyes with Tucker and they held identical smiles.

"She called me and we came right over the minute the doctor gave her the 'ok.'" Tucker explained for her as he walked in as well.

"Well, we have things to talk about!" She was _already_ heading towards the stairs. They jogged to catch up with her.

 **{For someone who got attacked by a ghost, she's the same as ever.}** Phantom chuckled softly, though Danny could almost feel the nudge of his insistence to watch her closely.

 _Yeah, well that's Sam for you._ Danny held back a laugh, then sent Phantom a small nudge. _What's the matter?_

 **{…it's nothing. Probably.}**

 _Ok that means there has to be_ _something._ Danny closed the bedroom door behind him, leaning against it. Tucker sat at his computer desk while Sam sat at his bed, spreading the notebooks out.

 **{It's better if I don't talk about it.}** Phantom insisted. **{You'll just get worried if I tell you}**

 _I'm_ _already_ _worried because you_ _aren't_ _telling me._

 **{And you'll only worry** _ **more**_ **if I tell you.}**

He held himself back from rolling his eyes – _annoying paranoid ghost_ – and tuned back into his friends' conversation, bewildered as he realized they were staring at him.

"Uh…did I…miss something?"

"Only about everything we were saying." Sam bluntly answered, crossing her arms in the picture of pure annoyance and disappointment. " _Sorry_ this stuff may be boring to you but we should really figure out – or try to _guess_ – your new powers and behaviors."

"Wait, wait, hold on." His eyes shifted between the two of them, and then the notebooks. Before either could move he grabbed one and started reading out loud, " _Flickers in and out of existence, human possession, moving things without people seeing…_ you…you two…?" A smile crept up his face, and he bit his bottom lip to keep from bursting out into laughter at their embarrassed blushes. "You can't be _serious_."

"We can't exactly ask your parents about this stuff!" Tucker huffed, both he and Sam had an embarrassed flush, "And I bet you know less about this than we do!"

That _did_ make him pause. They were _somewhat_ right. Still, he sat next to Sam. "Ok, let's start a list of 'definite' powers and 'maybe' powers then."

They sat for the next few minutes quickly writing down the powers they _knew_ Danny had – and then stumbling through the "maybe" ones. Though Danny wanted them to scratch out the ones that were utterly ridiculous (Phantom was laughing though – the traitor), but they insisted they keep it "just in case." He was sure they just wanted to tease him.

After it was done, Tucker looked over the list and sighed. "Ok, so, the only powers Danny has _so far_ is _intangibility, invisibility, 'ghost sense_ ,' and uh…notice me not?"

Sam wrinkled her nose. "I thought we put _that_ under the maybe list?"

Tucker turned to Danny, who only shrugged.

"I mean, it makes _sense_ since no one at school notices my whole arm disappear during class."

That earned a small laugh from his two friends, and Tucker didn't move to change it on the list.

"I still think we should scrap the 'maybe' list." Danny spoke up. "It's…kind of stupid."

"I thought we told you, it's all we've _got_." A pen hit his forehead, curtesy of Sam. "So stop whining."

"I'm not _whining_ —"

The room door creaked open, and they all _immediately_ shut their mouths. Tucker flipped the notebook in his hand over to a blank page, and Sam tried to hide the other notebooks with her body. Danny tried to keep his face completely innocent as his mother stood in the doorway. She pushed up her goggles, seeming slightly confused at their odd behavior, though it was quickly covered up by her "mom glare."

"Uh…hey Mrs. Fenton." Tucker was the first to speak up, waving slightly. Sam followed with her own nervous smile.

"Yeah, hi…sorry to come in unannounced…"

"You two do that all the time, it's fine." She answered smoothly, her expression softening just slightly. "It's nice to see you're better, Sam."

"Thanks…"

His mom's sharp gaze turned to him. "Danny, Jack's waiting down in the lab for the three of you. You better get down quickly before he comes up to get you."

"What are you—" Danny stopped himself, then groaned as he remembered the punishment his mom had extended to all three of them.

 **{I can't** _ **believe**_ **we forgot.}**

 _We weren't really worried about that all week…_

Mom's lips quirked up into a smile as Tucker and Sam turned to Danny, obviously demanding an explanation.

Shit. They are going to _kill_ him.

"Uh…well…" He swallowed, laughing sheepishly. "…because we were…you know… _roughhousing_ and got Sam hurt…we need to listen to my dad talk about ghosts for a while."

Oh, Sam was going to kill him. No, Tucker was going to kill him. Wait, no, they were _both_ going to kill him and only Phantom will be left of the remains. (Phantom grimaced, but the feeling of discomfort passed before Danny could even register it.) He tried looking to his mother for help, but she was only giving him a stern glare, hiding the mirth in her eyes.

"It won't be _that_ bad, I told Jack to tone it down a little. You'll just learn about our new inventions – and the _safety rules_ of the ghost portal." She took a step back. "Now hurry up, the sooner you get this over with the sooner you three can get back to homework." And she left.

"Look guys I'm _so sorry_ I forgot." Danny _immediately_ turned to frantically apologize. "I've just been worried about other things – and I know that's the lamest excuse ever but—"

Sam covered his mouth with a gloved hand, her expression unimpressed but also fairly understanding. "Danny, shut up. We get it."

"Yeah, besides, this is _way_ better than telling your parents about…you know." Tucker gave another vague hand sign that Danny could only _assume_ meant "ghost."

He chuckled. "If you two say so…let's go into torture, shall we?"

The lecture was the same as always with his dad. He got distracted fairly easily and often went off on different tangents that suited his liking. But he did seem genuinely excited to tell them all about the inventions they had begun or finished. Some, honestly, seemed fairly useless. Though, the one that caught Danny's eye was the metallic thermos sitting innocently on the table.

"Hey, Dad?" He spoke up, when there was a pause in his lecture. He tried his best to look engaged as he pointed to the thermos. "What's _that_?"

"This?" He picked up the thermos, grinning as he tapped the side with a knuckle. "This, Danny, is the _Fenton Thermos_ , it's supposed to trap ghosts!"

" _Intriguing_." Sam grumbled. Out of the corner of his eye Danny saw Tucker elbow her side. He held back a snicker as he tried to seem as curious as possible.

"So, how does it work, exactly?"

Danny could feel Phantom perk up – he could almost see the grin on his face. **{You're** _ **devious**_ **.}**

 _Thank you. I try._

 **{Don't you think they'll be a little suspicious?}**

 _They won't even notice it's gone._ Danny held back his own grin, but he could feel Sam and Tucker glancing at him. Tucker made another one of his vague gestures, before pointing to his eyes. What the hell?

His dad didn't seem to notice though, as his expression deflated. _Oh no_. "…you see...it doesn't work. And since we've never met a ghost, we can't test it." He placed the thermos back down.

"But if it _did_ work," They pushed their dad only slightly, " _how_ would it work?"

"It's supposed to have this power to suck in the ghosts and trap them in there." His grin was back as he went over to the portal, tapping an odd, circular part that Danny was sure wasn't there when he had…gone in a while ago. " _Then_ when it's reached capacity, you empty them right back where they came from!"

Phantom was _grinning_ by the end of the explanation. Danny was sure his own grin matched Phantom's.

"Thanks for the explanation, Dad."

"No problem, son!"

The minute they were finally released from the boring lecture, Danny was practically _dragged_ back upstairs to their bedroom.

"Dude, are you ok?" Tucker automatically asked.

They stared at them, eyebrows furrowing. "Of course I am…?"

"Your eyes were glowing _green_ when your dad talked about that thermos." Sam was glaring at him, but her eyes showed some fear. "Is something…wrong?"

" _Wrong_? No! That Thermos is the answer to all our problems!" To emphasize this, they waved their hands in the air, grinning wide.

"… _what_ problems, exactly…?"

"The _ghosts_ , remember? The Ectopus, the Box Ghost – _more_ ghosts could come around. With the thermos that problem is _solved_."

To their utter dismay, the two of them didn't seem as happy as he did.

"Ok…that makes…sense." Sam took a deep breath. " _But_ , think about it…rationally, Danny. You heard your dad, the Thermos doesn't work. Not only does it _not_ work, but it's _never been tested_. What if it backfires and hurts you?"

"It's designed to capture ghosts, not hurt them."

"Yeah, well, your parents' _designs_ haven't worked out for you at _all_ has it?" Her bitter hiss made them – _him_ freeze. Shit.

 _Phantom stop influencing my thoughts._

 **{Not exactly my fault.}** He paused. **{Sorry, though. But it's not like either of us are wrong – us or Sam.}**

 _I know._ He took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair. "...ok, ok Sam I get your point. But just… _think_ about it."

"I think _you're_ the one who isn't thinking."

"I _am_! Sorry I'm more worried about ghosts _attacking people_ than you are—"

"Oh, and I guess getting a _concussion_ because I had to fight a ghost because you weren't _there_ —"

" _GUYS_!"

They both paused, turning to Tucker who was glaring at the both of them.

"Fighting won't get us _anywhere_." He snapped. "Look, neither of you are _wrong_ but we _do_ need to be careful. We can't just _steal_ from Danny's parents," he fixed Danny with a _look_ before he could interrupt, "but we can't _rely_ on them since ghosts are roaming free."

"Then what else _is there_?" Danny sagged and sat on his bed. "It's the _only thing_ we have that can capture ghosts. And if it doesn't work my parents will abandon it sooner or later."

"No, they won't." Sam put a hand on his shoulder as she sat next to him again, Tucker sat on the other side. "Look, your parents are ghost _fanatics_ and they opened a _portal._ And now ghosts are starting to show up everywhere. Eventually they'll notice and make something that _actually_ works."

"We don't have _time_ to wait for that. A ghost more powerful than the Ectopus and Box Ghost could show up _tomorrow_."

"Then, we'll figure things out." Tucker jumped in. "We promise, Danny."

He took a deep breath. "…thanks guys."

 **{We don't deserve them.}**

 _No…we really don't._

They sat in silence for a moment longer, before Sam suddenly frowned.

"Danny…who the _hell_ is the Box Ghost?"

* * *

 **Oh yeah, we've actually entered the first episode of the actual series! It...took me a bit to actually get through it (there are a couple chapters dedicated to _one_ episode actually.) I'm trying to put...my own spin of how events happen. Which is fun, so that's why it may take a while to edit everything. Fighting scenes are still difficult for me to do, but the next few chapters should be out at least after Christmas when I _finally_ get away from my family. **

**So, if you would like to contact me, ask a question, ask me to write a quick oneshot or draw something, you can contact me on my Tumblr pandoradoodlebox. (I'm just a bit inactive as I'm dealing with my parents during the holiday season. I'll be active on there soon though!) **


	6. Chapter 6

School was _much_ better, more _bearable_ , with Sam back. But things were quiet – too quiet for Danny's or Phantom's liking, in all honesty. Since the portal had opened, they were running into the Ectopus near constantly. The Box Ghost rarely appeared, but when he _does_ show up, it seemed to get easier and easier to just give him a beating and scare him off.

But, now with the _Thermos_ on their mind, it was so… _frustrating_. Just the _idea_ that there was something they could use which would manually _throw_ the ghosts back into the zone, out of _their lair…_

Danny only wondered how the hell Sam and Tucker were able to stay so calm about the whole thing when all he wanted to do was _scream_.

At the very least, things seemed to go back to some form of "normalcy" at home – a fake version of it. There was a tension in the air that Danny couldn't _exactly_ describe with words. They seemed…more distant, in a way. Jazz spent her mornings now obnoxiously reading thick books on psychology and "surviving adolescence." His parents seemed to be more obsessed with seeing a ghost than ever. Their latest inventions all seemed to surround locating and capturing ghosts. The added stress of just _that_ was running Danny and Phantom up a _wall_.

 **{Your spoon fell through your fingers a while ago.}**

Danny paused, glancing down to his cereal to find his spoon _was_ in the bowl, instead of his fingers. In fact, his fingers were still intangible and invisible. With a quick bite of his bottom lip, he held back what he was sure to be a loud yelp and quickly hid his hand under the table. He glanced up to check if anyone noticed – Jazz's head was still deep in her book, and his Mom was focused on whatever invention she was working on.

He let out a deep sigh of relief. _That was…close. Too close._

 **{That "notice me not" power really does come in handy}** Phantom chuckled nervously.

 _Luckily._ Danny picked back up his spoon, trying to force more cereal into his mouth to calm his rapidly beating heart. He tried to focus, instead, on the sound of fire near metal and his mother's familiar hums; both died down and she looked over the bulky machine.

She clicked her tongue as she turned it over in her hands. "It's not quite done yet…" She muttered to herself, pushing buttons and slowly spinning dials. "…maybe a few more days…?"

" _Mom_ ," Jazz huffed and put her book down, "What is so important _this time_? Can't you just eat breakfast like a normal parent?"

 _Oh, here we go…_

In the back of his mind, he could see Phantom smirk. **{If it wasn't so early, I would ask you to make popcorn for us.}**

 _Our family arguing isn't really popcorn material._

"Jazz! It's very important!" His dad immediately said, as he went over to take the machine from his mom's hands. "It's our newest invention! The _Fenton Finder_!"

"Ah- _huh_." Jazz didn't seem as impressed as their dad thought they should be. "And how, pray tell, does it _work_?"

"Well, it uses electromagnetic and ectoplasmic readings to locate any ghosts within 30 feet." Their mom explained, while turning dial as it still sat in their dad's hands, unaware of her son's frozen panic. "Since it isn't _done_ it could still have some…malfunctions."

"M-Malfunctions…?" Danny cursed that his voice came out as a squeak, but it wasn't helping that he and Phantom were panicking. "What kind of malfunctions?"

"Oh, any reads of ectoplasm higher than 3.5 it tends to read as a ghost." His mother explained, continuing to adjust and tinker with the Finder. "As you two should _know_ already, definite ghost readings are usually a 4.5 and higher…" She chuckled, obviously finding the small miscalculation amusing. "So, if you've come into recent contact with ectoplasm, it will—"

" _Welcome to the Fenton Finder."_ A robotic female voice came from the device as it suddenly activated. Their parents beamed. Jazz rolled her eyes; but they immediately froze, standing in an effort to find a way out that wasn't too suspicious – " _There is a ghost nearby."_

 **{Danny.** _ **Danny they're going to find out**_ **.** _ **We have to**_ _ **run**_ **.}**

 _Shut up I'm thinking!_

 **{You aren't thinking, you're** _ **panicking!**_ **}**

 _And what do you think_ _you're_ _doing?!_

" _Walk…forward."_ The cruel machine went on, and, paying attention to it, they immediately began walking forward, right towards Danny.

Danny always knew he was, on average, fairly small. The last time he had checked, he barely reached five feet (in fact, he was currently around 4'11"). And, since he was short, he had to get used to the fact that people would tower over him, especially his parents. Yet, he's never had the feeling of someone being so giant to him – someone who he really _feared_.

 _Please don't, please don't…_

His back hit the wall. His parents stood barely a foot in front of him. The _Fenton Finder_ was pointed right at his whimpered softly in his head, and he had to bite his lip to keep himself from letting out the same sound.

The Finder spoke again – sounding close to a death sentence.

" _Ghost located. Thank you for using the Fenton Finder."_

Danny tried to regulate his breathing, tried to calm himself and Phantom at the same time. His parents were frowning at the Finder, glancing to each other in clear disappointment.

"Well _that_ can't be right." His dad said in clear frustration.

"I _did_ say it was malfunctioning Jack." She sighed, gently taking the device from him. "Obviously, we need to regulate it to a higher ectoplasm reading if it's picking up Danny…"

"W-Wait… _what_?" It felt like the universe had somehow aligned to make this the most painful and confusing thing in the world. He was so sure he was _dead_ (completely, this time) and yet his parents were acting like this is all…normal? _What_?

"Oh, sweetie, we didn't tell you?" His mom sighed.

"…Tell me what?"

"Well…" she paused, as if choosing her words carefully, "after the…Accident…we figured that you would end up having a higher ectoplasmic reading than other people, considering…what happened…"

 **{Oh my god.}** Phantom breathed, Danny was sure if he was in control his mouth would be wide open. **{…they think we absorbed ectoplasm.}**

 _Is that even…possible?_

 **{I'm not the ghost scientist. I have absolutely** _ **no clue.**_ **}**

 _Great. Well, at least we have an explanation if Mom or Dad pick us up on their machines…_

"But," his mom spoke up again, "perhaps we should still run a few…tests." _Oh no. Oh_ _ **no no no no.**_ "To make sure the ectoplasm he must have absorbed isn't affecting him negatively—" _**PLEASE NO.**_

"Stop it!" Danny blinked, as one minute he was looking at his parents, and now, Jazz was standing protectively in front of him, her arms crossed. "Look at you two! It's been barely a month since the accident and you're already poking at what could be triggers for him!"

For once, Danny was _relieved_ that Jazz and her near-obsession with psychology had popped up. Phantom noticeably relaxed – and their core seemed to calm down – he hadn't even realized how it was pulsing erratically, matching their panic. They really were lucky he hadn't phased right through the wall or anything like that.

 _Do you think our eyes glowed green?_

 **{If it did, Mom and Dad didn't notice}**

"Jazz…" Their dad gave her what he supposed was an understanding smile. "What we do may seem dangerous, but we're just making sure no ghosts got to Danny!"

 **{I mean, one did. But you want me here, don't you Danny?}**

Danny held back a small smile. _I'm pretty sure by now, I'd be worried if my head was silent._

 **{So…?}**

 _That's a yes, I do want you here._

For a moment, he felt Phantom retreat back into their mind for a bit, but he couldn't hide the bursting happiness that he suddenly let out. Danny had to hold back his own happy laughter just at the feeling. He tried, instead, to tune back into his family's conversation.

"…just bring up this ghost stuff in front of him!" Jazz was ranting. Oh boy. "What if you two trigger a _panic attack_ or something with one of your inventions?!"

"Danny has been fine, and our inventions are harmless to humans…"

"Um, since you guys are so busy talking about me…" He inched away, grabbing his backpack. "I'm gonna head to the bus before it leaves without me…" With a glimpse at the time, he tried not to grimace. Even if he ran, he probably wouldn't make it on time – and his driver was merciless to kids even a few seconds late.

 **{We could always fly.}**

… _we could…_

"Wait." Jazz put a hand on his shoulder effectively locking him in place. She looked over her shoulder flashing what he could guess was a glare towards their parents. "As the _only responsible adult_ in the house, _I'll_ drive you to school."

Before he could even _try_ to object, Jazz had already grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out towards her car.

Well this was starting out to be a _fantastic_ day.

O~O~O

"…was Jazz acting a bit oddly to you?" Maddie could help but ask – the two had retreated back to their lab to try and recalibrate the _Fenton Finder_ , but she couldn't help but think over the events of just a few minutes ago over and over. _Had they_ pushed Danny too far? Or was this a sign of Jazz's own version of teenage rebellion?

"She definitely was!" Jack huffed beside her, looking over some test results from the portal. "She's never usually like that with Danny, even after she decided to go into psychology."

"That's what I thought…" She muttered, moving on to look over their equations. Psychology had grabbed their daughter's attention as fiercely as the topic of ghosts had caught there's. And though they were disappointed she was venomously refusing to go into ghosts – they still tried to support her and her efforts. But since the Accident…she had flipped her switch towards near…obsession, focusing on Danny's mind and verbally attacking them when they crossed whatever invisible lines she had set.

…obsession…

 _Obsession…_

"Dear?"

"Hm?"

"…what was our theory about Ghost Obsessions again?"

Jack paused from his work, humming slightly as he began to think back to the papers they would write, and the theories they would jot down. "A Ghost's Obsession is something they carry over from their living days to their death. Their final wish. They will eternally and violently try to complete whatever they set out to do…" He paused, seeming to start connecting the dots, as she started to. "…you don't think…?"

She grimaced. "…Danny might not have been the _only one_ affected by…the Accident."

They both glanced at the portal. The scientific blessing, yet it was also starting to prove itself to be an odd curse.

"Do you think she's…a _ghost_?" Jack was starting to get that look in his eye – the same one he got whenever ghosts were mentioned. Maddie hesitated.

"I don't…know. I mean, it _fits,_ especially with the time frame, and she _was home_ during the Accident…"

"So, she could be possessed by a ghost! Or even be a ghost herself!"

"…well, it can't hurt to be careful…"

O~O~O

Jazz Fenton, who was sat in her homeroom, shivered slightly, a sense of foreboding coming over her. Suddenly, she was regretful she had no excuse to stay after school for the day.

O~O~O

These days, whenever Danny was in a particularly bad mood, Sam and Tucker seemed more… _gentle_ with him. They tiptoed and were careful with their words, like they were afraid his temper would snap and break like glass. That morning, though, Sam didn't seem to remember any of that. Her grin was wide when she practically ran to meet them. It seemed she didn't even realize Danny was not starting off that morning with the best of moods.

"Wow, this is the happiest I've ever seen you, goth girl." Tucker teased, though Danny could feel his eyes were on him. He stayed silent, trying not to let his bad mood damper Sam's good one.

"Shut up, Foley." There was barely any bite in her words. It really _was_ the first time in a while Danny has seen her like this.

"What's got _you_ so excited?"

She ran a hand through her hair. "With all that stuff with the…Accident, and the ghost stuff…I almost forgot to do this. _But,_ " she crossed her arms with a smug smile, "I _finally_ managed towear down the school lunch committee."

Oh god.

"You. Did _what_?" Tucker's jaw dropped, he looked _horrified._

"Sam…" Danny started slowly, feeling like his day was starting to go from bad to worse. "…what did you _do_?"

Sam's grin was shark-like. Strange, for someone who's supposed to be "Ultra-Recyclo Vegetarian." (or "Vegan with too many words" as Phantom liked to put it.)

"Well, you two know what _garbage_ they give us at school every day." She began; Tucker was beginning to look at her like she was some sort of super-villain. "I just figured it could…use a change in the program."

"You…you _changed it_?!" The wail of absolute despair that came from Tucker suited a ghost more than a human. Phantom gave him three stars out of five for the impression. "B-But…today was supposed to be tacos, Sam! _Tacos_!"

She gave him a look of disgust. "Why would you want cow meat when they're going to be giving us things like salads, and tofu…"

"You're a _monster_."

Danny shook his head. "Come on, this can _not_ be permanent." He paused, then side eyed Sam. Sure, he hated school lunch as much as the next teenager…but that didn't mean he wanted salad and bland tofu for the rest of the year. "…can it?"

She paused, then puckered her lips, definitely debating her answer before she deflated slightly. "…no, it's not permanent. They wouldn't agree to _that_."

"…then it's…?"

"It lasts a week." She answered bluntly. "I got them to agree to a _week._ So, you two are going to shut up and enjoy some Ultra Recyclo-Vegetarian food. You can suck it up for five days." Her tone was more towards Tucker, but Danny could hear Phantom grumble.

 **{Wanna skip lunch and go to the Nasty burger again?}**

 _Sam would kill us. So would Tucker for not taking him. And…I don't have any cash. We spent the last of our allowance on that milkshake you wanted, remember?_

 **{Fuck.}**

Danny wholeheartedly agreed.

"Alright, we'll try out _your_ menu for the week. But you _have_ to know this is going to backfire."

"What the _hell_ do you mean ' _backfire?'_ " She near hissed, glaring fiercely.

He raised his hands up quickly, begging for peace before she decided he wasn't dead enough. "I _mean_ we're in a _public school_. In _America._ They screw up _regular_ lunches. We both know they're going to screw up this one."

She deflated slightly, before there was a new fire in her eyes – though less than before. "Oh, fuck off. This will be _fine_."

"Yeah, sure." Tucker grumbled, pulling out his phone to type away at something. Well, now two people are in a sour mood. "There's gotta be _some_ kind of backlash to changing this."

"Oh _please_." She rolled her eyes, walking in front of them as the warning bell rang. "What could happen, other than a few people getting pissed off?"

O~O~O

The lab seemed colder, lowering in temperature drastically as the portal stayed open. Jack figured it was normal. Whenever they were running tests on the portal, the temperature would fluctuate for random periods of time. It seems this was just one of the times it just got even colder than usual.

What he didn't see was an old lady, almost like a grandma, with green skin, wearing a ragged and used uniform for the Casper High lunch facility climb out from the portal. Nor did he see her tilt her head to the side, her eyes _glowing_ for a moment. She frowned, and her eyes narrowed.

" **Did someone change the menu…?"**

When he did finally turn to look, the lady was gone, and the temperature rose. Almost like it hadn't even happened.

O~O~O

Word about the change to the school menu didn't begin circling around until fourth period – and people were more than pissed at the sudden, unexpected and unannounced switch. Like Danny had pretty much predicted, it was more the fact that the food sucked more than usual than the switch itself. It was by _fifth_ period that word started to get around that it was Sam who had demanded the change. It wasn't a surprise when they were met with glares in the hallway when Sam was pointed out. As it pulled closer to their shared lunch period, Sam's determined expression she tried to hold through the day was starting to falter.

"…it _can't_ be that bad." Sam grumbled to herself. "Everyone's just…over reacting."

Tucker and Danny just glanced at each other, both of their expressions holding a grimace.

When they finally went into the cafeteria, Sam was the first to make a beeline for the lunch line. And, like they expected, it was bad. In fact, it was _terrible._

What they had tried to do, it seemed, was mash tofu like it was potatoes. They then mashed up taco shells to mix with it and thrown an almost moss-like spinach on top.

Or, as they called it, "Mud pies."

"I can't believe this!" Sam looked ready to scream, looking down at the atrocity they had tried to pass off as "Vegan and Vegetarian friendly."

"Is it too early to say 'I told you so?'" Tucker asked conversely, poking at his own food.

" _Way_ too early, Tuck." Danny quickly spoke up, seeing the fiery glare Sam gave him.

He winced. " _Sorry_ but come on! Anyone would have seen this coming a _mile_ away!"

"Fuck you too, Foley."

" _Guys_." Danny quickly interjected before the argument he could feel coming could get any further. "Look, it happened and it's over so can we _please_ just try to eat this gross Mud pie and then in a few years we can all look back at this and laugh?"

They were silent for a moment, before Tucker sighed and Sam ran a hand through her hair.

"Alright fine."

"Yeah ok."

 _Hey look at that, I can stop them from fighting._

 **{…alright that's good and all but are we** _ **really**_ **eating that?}**

 _You technically aren't eating this, I am._

 **{I can still taste it.}**

Danny sent an image of him rolling his eyes. _I promised I would suck this up for a week and eat it. So that's what I'm doing._

 **{But** _ **still**_ **.}**

 _I promise to get you a milkshake if you shut up about it this week._

Phantom huffed but he knew he won. He hid his grin behind his hand as he once again debated whether or not to _actually_ eat this.

"Hey _Fenton_!" Something wet and slimy hit the back of his neck, making him shiver in disgust. He turned, to find Dash glaring down at him. _For fucks sake._

"What do you want, Dash?" He snapped.

"I heard it's because of your _girlfriend_ that we have this disgusting food." He growled, taking another step closer. The way he was balancing the tray in his hand was making Danny a bit nervous.

"She's not my girlfriend." He protested, trying to ignore the rising anger Phantom was practically leaking from his side of their link.

"I'm not his girlfriend." Sam protested at the same time. "Now fuck off, Dash, no one cares about your opinion."

"Shut up, Manson." He snapped at her before turning his glare to Danny, grabbing him by his collar. **{He better let go or I'll—}** _Calm down Phantom jeez._ "I'm trying to have the best high school years of my life and I'm _not_ about to have you ruin it _Fen-toni_."

 _Wow, original._ Danny held back a roll of his eyes. Phantom's growl echoed in his head. _…Phantom?_

Dash pushed him back into a table – he hissed when the edge hit his back. Phantom growled louder.

 **{He's going to** _ **pay**_ **for harming you like that—}**

 _He always does that, don't let it get under your skin._

 **{I'm a** _ **ghost.**_ **I don't** _ **have**_ **skin}**

Perhaps it was because he was so occupied trying to get Phantom to calm down, but he barely registered what Dash was about to do until he flipped his tray over right onto his hair. A shiver went up his spine as the cold, almost slimy substance began to go from his hair down his shirt.

 _Ugh, this is worse than the Ectopus tentacles…_

Phantom didn't answer, but Danny could feel his radiating anger. Around them, people who had stood to watch began laughing at the spectacle, especially Dash.

"Hey, you look even better now, _Fenton_."

He opened his mouth – to say _what,_ he didn't know – but a deep shiver went up his spine and smoke slipped from his open mouth. From the corner of his eye, he could see a ghost – an _unfamiliar_ ghost – slip into the kitchen.

Fuck.

"Um…uh…" He had to get to the kitchen, he had to get there without anyone noticing…

Phantom whispered a plan. He could feel him grinning.

… _this is a terrible idea._

Phantom only snickered, pushing him to just _do it_. _It was just revenge, wasn't it? He deserved it – he_ _ **started it.**_

They grabbed a piece of food out of their hair, looking directly at Dash and his smug grin. They only grinned back and threw it in his face.

" _Food fight!"_

There was a brief moment of pure disbelief in total, complete silence. But it took barely 10 seconds for the cafeteria to dissolve into pure chaos. Danny slipped away from Dash as quick as he could, barely even noticing Sam and Tucker glance at each other before ducking the flying food to follow him. He looked back briefly, seeing Dash yelling, face red with fury and absolutely _covered_ in food.

Danny wasn't sure whether to laugh or to grimace – but he knew Dash would _definitely_ kill him later. Phantom was too gleeful about the fact that they had gotten their brief moment of revenge to even think about the fact that Dash would get them back for this sooner or later.

"Danny, what the _hell_?" Tucker's voice was low as it could be, when he finally caught up to him. The sudden voice made him jump, and he turned to hiss at them.

"Why did you two follow me?!"

"What _else_ did you expect when you did _that_?!" Sam hissed back.

"There's a _ghost_ in the kitchen. I had to create a distraction _somehow_."

"Then we're still coming with you." Tucker said. "We aren't just going to let you do this without some backup."

"We can handle ourselves." Sam's glare was icy cold. "I _fought_ one, remember?"

"And how well did _that_ work out?" Danny muttered under his breath, before turning to the kitchen door. Sam and Tucker now close behind.

The temperature dropped drastically when they slipped inside the kitchen, completely unnoticed by the other students screaming gleefully over their childish fight. Above them, the lights flickered ominously, and some even went out. The ghost, this time, was a woman – she looked like one of the lunch ladies in fact (she even had the same uniform). Wherever she floated, the flickering lights would follow.

Tucker and Sam stayed far back, Danny tilted his head to the side. She seemed…harmless. Like a grandma, almost. He could feel how tense his friends were though – not that he blamed them, really, especially after the first ghost they ever fought without him.

But, she didn't seem to be doing anything except looking around the kitchen. In fact, she almost seemed confused. _Phantom? Is she harmless?_

Phantom was silent for a moment. **{…I don't know. I honestly can't tell.}**

 _You can't tell?_

 **{Well, there** _ **are**_ **some ghosts who are…mostly harmless. But this one…I don't know, honestly. I never met her before.}**

Danny took a deep breath. _Alright…ready to fight her if it gets bad?_

 **{I always am.}**

The ghost turned, and she floated over to them. **"Hello children, I need some help."** She…seemed calm. She _sounded_ calm, and Danny couldn't help but relax a little. Maybe she really was harmless? **"You see, today on the menu is tacos – but there are no tacos!"** Her frown deepened.

"Oh, that's because _Sam,_ " Tucker gave her a pointed look, "changed the menu."

Alarm bells went off in their head as the ghost's frown turned into a dark glare. **"YOU CHANGED THE MENU?!"** She grew in size, growling at them with shark-like teeth and the things around them began to float, kitchen knives pointed right towards them and plates ready to be used as ammo. **"THE MENU HAS BEEN THE SAME FOR** _ **FIFTY YEARS**_ **!"** Her roar of anger rang in their ears.

 _Shit_.

O~O~O

Phantom found himself pushed to the front in less than a second. He turned and immediately grabbed Sam and Tucker, holding them by the backs of their shirts as he made them all intangible – he could feel them both flinch as the knives and plates flew right through them; the plates shattering against the walls and the knives embedding into any flat surface.

" **Lunch is** _ **sacred**_ **!"** The ghost – who Phantom decided to dub "Lunch Lady" – was still ranting. The ovens began to glow with green ectoplasm, coming to life as monsters spitting fire. **"Lunch has** _ **rules**_ **!"**

 **{For fucks** _ **sake**_ **. If someone told me I would be fighting ovens today I would have brought my mitts.}** Phantom hissed as he just barely dodged a jet of fire. One flew right for him, and he quickly dodged – only to hear Tucker behind him scream.

He turned, flying after the oven he had just dodged and kicked it into the wall before it could hit Tucker, perhaps harder than he needed to. It made a pretty noticeable crack.

 **{…maybe no one will notice that.}**

 _If we're lucky._

"Danny!" Sam's yelp made him turn – she was slowly getting surrounded, her only weapon a ladle she had gotten from who _knows_ where. He flew over to her and blocked her with his body, turning them both intangible just a second late as flames passed right through them.

Phantom could feel a stab of pain at his back, but he ignored it as he said, **{Sorry Sam}** and quickly tossed her over to where Tucker was. She screamed in surprise and anger, but overall, he could tell she wasn't hurt.

Now _he_ was the one surrounded. The ghost was gone, and it was getting progressively hotter. Phantom felt like he was _melting_ , the heat was getting near unbearable. He sluggishly dodged another wave of flames, but he could feel the burns on his arm.

 **{Too…hot…}**

 _Phantom?_ Danny's concerned voice rang in his head. _We need to get out of here. Lunch Lady already left._

Right. Leaving. God, it's so _hot._

Feeling sluggish – why did it feel like _100 degrees?_ – he went over to Sam and Tucker, grabbing them both, perhaps a bit rougher than he meant to, and turned them all intangible. He threw all three of them through the nearest wall, into an empty hallway. They all tumbled into a couple lockers and all let out matching groans of pain.

"Well I'm gonna feel _that_ tomorrow." Tucker whined as he slowly stood.

"Danny, are you ok?" Sam asked, placing a hand on his arm only to quickly pull back when he hissed in pain. "Holy shit that burn looks _bad_."

 **{We're fine.}** He waved a hand, starting to float up, not bothering to right himself as he held his head. The hallway was _much_ cooler than the kitchen, and it was like heaven on his inflamed skin.

"Are you sure?" Tucker took a step closer. Through his hair, he could see him grimace. "Those burns look pretty bad."

 **{I said it's** _ **fine**_ **.}** They stressed, turning so now he was floating in air, going into a sitting position. The burns, honestly, felt worse than it really looked. They'd heal, he was sure.

"…do you guys smell meat?"

He and Sam turned to give Tucker a confused stare, but the lights above them began to dim and flicker.

 _Looks like Lunch Lady's back._

 **{You think?}**

Lunch Lady stood near the end of the hallway, meat products began to float towards her that they were sure couldn't have been anything the school was planning to serve their students. They piled on top of Lunch Lady, making her bigger until she was large enough that her head touched the ceiling.

" _ **You,"**_ she pointed directly to Sam, who took a small step back, **"need to learn to respect lunch! And respect** _ **meat**_ **!"**

Phantom let out a growl, standing in front of Sam. **{You'll have to** _ **get through me**_ _ **first.**_ **}** He slipped from English to Ghost Speak, and it took some effort to remember English as he turned to Sam and Tucker. **{Run.}**

Without even waiting to see if they followed his instructions, he flew right for Lunch Lady, deciding to aim for a punch to the face first – though as soon as his hand collided with the meat, it merely absorbed it, sinking in slightly. Everything around them smelled so strongly of _meat_ it made their head hurt.

He _growled._

She _grinned._

Just as he pulled his hand out of the meat, she grabbed him with one of her hands and threw him right into the wall.

His head hit cool metal, and everything went black.

* * *

So we're officially on the first episode of DP! This was really fun to write but. Now. I've got a _bone_ to pick with this episode, now that we're on the first part. Mostly about the school lunch? And Sam's reaction? Ok, maybe it's because I've had vegan and vegetarian food regularly in my diet (my mom is vegan and she gets happy when I share her food) so it annoys me that Sam got incredibly defensive about the lunch they served even though, in my opinion at least, she should be...angry?

Also, as a point of reference, I usually base how high school periods go on my old high school. So lunch period for students are from 4th-8th.

So, if you would like to contact me, or ask a question, you can contact me on my Tumblr pandoradoodlebox.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi guys! Welcome to a new chapter! I want to take a bit of time to answer someone's question about Plasmius and Masters. Just in case anyone else wanted to know.**

 **The question was: Are they going to be stupid and crazy?**

 **Basically, if you're asking "will he do the exact same things he did in canon?" The answer is...no. There's going to be a very noticeable deviation from events that happen in canon, and so the Vlads won't be the same either. Yes, their actions will still affect Danny and Phantom as well as his family, but he'll be a bit more...cunning than he was in canon. And make actions that make just a bit more _sense._**

 **But, well, I think it will take a bit before we run into him again. He's a bit busy right now, as I'm sure you all know ^^**

 **Either way, let's see how Danny is doing, shall we?**

* * *

It was suddenly too dark, too unending, too much like a void that had grabbed Danny by his limbs and held him down. No matter how much he yelled and screamed, Phantom wouldn't answer. He couldn't get control of his body either – why did _he_ have to be awake while Phantom was unconscious? How was that _fair_?

 _Phantom?!_ He tried screaming again – it didn't work. Of course it didn't.

At this point Danny could fully admit that he was panicking a bit – but he was _definitely_ allowed to, wasn't he?

He knew they were knocked out, but since Phantom was in control it seemed he took most of the damage. He could still _feel_ it – the cold metal, the throb of pain, but he couldn't _wake up_.

 _Phantom, come on!_

 _Please!_

It was strange. He could feel their core, he could _feel_ Phantom. He knew Phantom was _there_. But the silence…the silence was the scariest thing. Was it possible for ghosts to die? They're already dead, but could a blow like this kill them _again_?

But if Phantom died…would he die too? Shouldn't he be deadas well?

He pushed the thought away before he could dwell on it more. Phantom just passed out. _They both_ , technically, passed out.

Then, things started to come back.

It didn't take long for Danny to realize that he had been pushed to the front. When he opened his eyes, it was just in time to see Sam getting grabbed, and whisked off who _knows_ where. He blinked, and suddenly Tucker was hovering over him, shaking him. He seemed far away and _too loud_ all at the same time.

" _Ugh_ ," he groaned as he ended up opening his eyes. _Phantom?_ He tried again – no luck.

" _Danny_ ," Tucker held the face of someone who was one hundred and ten percent panicking. "She…she took Sam."

 _Sam_. The reminder had him leaping up to stand, only to wince when his head throbbed in protest. Now that he was actually paying attention to his pain, his arm and back was _killing_ him. The burns from earlier seemed more obvious now that he was in control. He almost wanted to push up the sleeve of his sweatshirt to look, but something told him he didn't want to see just how bad the burns were.

 _Phantom, how the hell did you manage to stay quiet about this?_

The chilling silence was the only thing that followed.

"Danny?" Tucker frowned. "Are you ok?"

He swallowed. His head was killing him, he was one hundred percent sure he had some serious burns, and Phantom _wasn't answering_. "…yeah I'm…fine. But we need to go—"

" _You two_ , aren't going _anywhere_ ," a familiar voice stopped his sentence right in its tracks. They turned and winced when they realized their English teacher, Mr. Lancer, was glaring at them, his arms crossed. Dash stood behind him, covered in food with a smug smirk on his face.

 _Well, fuck._

O~O~O

The older Fentons had paused their experiments for the moment as they looked through their recent inventions. They had no way to _check_ if Jazz was possessed or not, since all the scanners would only lock onto Danny. In theory, a possessed person would show a reading of ectoplasm that is less than 4. The only way to figure out would be to use one of their inventions on her.

But, you see, that was the problem.

So far, they only had three finished inventions that would actually _capture_ a ghost. The first was the _Fenton Thermos_ , still sitting on their table as they tried to figure out _why_ it wasn't working. The other was basically a net (for now, dubbed the "Fenton Net") that Maddie put her foot down on. They would _not_ be using it on her until they were one hundred percent sure she was a ghost.

That, sadly, only left one thing.

"…are you sure about this, Jack?" Maddie frowned at the vacuum-like invention that was currently in his hands.

"Of course I am, Maddie!" He grinned. "Look, this isn't designed to hurt humans – only ghosts! It'll suck the ghost right out of her."

"And if there _is_ no ghost? This thing is designed like a vacuum Jack, we could pull her hair off and really hurt her—"

He shook his head, though his eyes were far gentler. "I _promise_ you, Maddie. Our little girl will be fine. And whatever ghost has her will be gone."

Her lips quirked up in a smile. "…alright…but now we just need to find those smoke bombs…"

O~O~O

In her Chemistry class, Jazz felt a shiver go up her spine. Something told her she would definitely be finding something unpleasant when she gets home…

O~O~O

Lancer stayed standing while the two boys sat in front of the office desk. He had instructed Dash to stay standing outside while he reprimand the two in front of him. For a while, he allowed a tense silence as he quietly looked for their records. Though it wasn't particularly necessary considering there wasn't _much_ to look for.

As he took the files out, he placed them both on the table, staring the two of them down. Tucker Foley had his eyes downwards – occasionally glancing towards the door. He seemed nervous, but that wasn't surprising. The fidgeting and obvious guilt was common in students who have done their direst misconduct in school.

Danny, though, wasn't fidgeting as much. He had his eyes downward, yes, but he looked lost in his own thoughts. This wasn't his first misconduct, even if he had seemingly managed to skip half of his classes without getting reprimanded, but he should still have…some kind of guilt in the way he was acting…

His eyes narrowed. It seemed this _was_ something planned.

"Tucker Foley," he finally spoke, tapping on his file, "Occasional tardiness from class and excessive talking during lessons…as well as getting caught with your _phone_ more than once…" he turned to Danny's next, "Daniel Fenton…other than a ban from fragile objects and the one time you skipped half a day of classes…there is nothing else between you that would have even _hinted_ at such a disgusting display of immaturity you two showed today." They both winced – good, it was getting to them. "You two are Freshman in _high school_ now, and you should be able to _act your age,_ gentleman."

They were both quiet, but he could see how uncomfortable they both were. Good, now to push…

"I should call your parents—"

"But Dash started it!" Danny suddenly blurted out, stopping him mid-sentence. "He—"

He put up a hand. "Mr. Baxtor did _not_ start a food fight that destroyed the cafeteria and forced us to close the area until it's cleaned. _You two_ , however, did." He picked up the two files and placed them back in the drawer. It was silent once again. "…I will not be calling your parents, _but_ you two will be getting a punishment suitable for what happened today."

They are both still silent, which is a good sign.

"I'm going to think of your punishment." He began slowly, walking towards the door, "and Mr. Baxtor will be guarding this door, so you two can't even _think_ about trying to run." With that, he gave them one last, stern glare, before opening the door and walking out.

O~O~O

"We have to find Sam."

That was the first thing Tucker said as soon as the door closed, and Danny grimaced, nodding in agreement. They didn't have _any_ time to sit and wait for Mr. Lancer to let them go – _if_ he decided to let them go. This was the second time Sam was taken by a ghost, and who _knows_ —

 _ **{Ugh…my head…}**_

 _Phantom!_

 _ **{Too loud**_ **,** _ **too**_ _ **loud}**_ Phantom hissed in Ghost Speak. Immediately, Danny willed himself to try and not _think_. Though he couldn't stop things from outside, he could feel Phantom almost…pull back. Like he was in fetal position somewhere in the back of his mind.

 _Phantom?_ He tried again, after a few moments of silence.

A sigh answered him.

 **{…remind me never to get hit in the head again.}**

 _Deal._ His lips quirked up in a small smile. Relief was deep in his chest – their core hummed happily.

 **{What happened while I was gone?}**

 _Sam._ He sent the blurry image of Sam getting taken by Lunch Lady to who _knows_ where.

 **{…well this is the worst possible scenario.}**

 _No, I'm sure it could get worse._

 **{I thought the ghost was supposed to be the pessimistic one.}**

 _And_ _I_ _thought we were both the ghost—_

"Danny! Snap out of it!"

He jumped, Phantom snickered.

Tucker was frowning at him. "Are you ok dude?"

"I'm fine." He quickly answered, ignoring the flush that settled on his cheeks when he realized he had gotten distracted talking to Phantom. "But we need to focus on finding Sam."

"You _don't know_ where she is?"

He threw his hands up in the air. "Why the _hell_ would I know where she is? I was _unconscious_ when she was taken."

"But- don't you have that power to tell where a ghost is?"

He wrinkled his nose. "…you mean my Ghost Sense?" When Tucker nodded, he let out a loud, exasperated sigh. "That tells me when a ghost is _nearby_ not _where it is_. I'm not a _radar_ for ghosts."

Tucker smirked. "…honestly dude? You kind of are."

"Shut up." He gave Tucker a light shove. But still, he wished he _was_ a Ghost Radar, because it would be _really_ useful right now.

He began to pace, checking his phone for the time. Lancer will be back any _minute_ now and they had until then to figure out where Sam was.

 _Phantom? Any ideas?_

Phantom sent him a shrug.

He extended the same question to Tucker.

Tucker also shrugged, but he added, "If that old lady stayed in that…meat form, she probably went somewhere she would be able to uh…not be noticed and…do whatever the hell she's doing to Sam."

He felt Phantom grimace. He filed that away to question him about later.

A place that's big enough to hold a meat monster… _and_ where no one really goes…

Something clicked.

"Hey, Tucker? Isn't there a basement?"

"Yeah, of course there is." He gave him a look like he was crazy. "Where do you think the boiler room and supplies – _oh_."

Danny grinned.

O~O~O

The stench of meat was constant around this ghost. It made Sam sick, and if she thought too much about the fact that the meat was _clinging_ to her, _surrounding_ her, she knew she would definitely throw up. She had to hold herself back from throwing up more than once.

This ghost, now, wasn't like the first one she fought – the Ectopus, or whatever the hell Danny named it – this one was _intelligent_. This one was _human_.

Or at least, as human as a ghost could be.

An image of Danny flashed in her mind. She grimaced and pushed it away. She was _not_ debating whether or not Danny was truly a human when she was in the basement of the school, surrounded by meat, and having it shoved in her face. No way in _hell_.

" **Oh** _ **child,**_ **"** Her coo echoed around her, echoed around the room. It was _painfully_ sweet, like a little old grandma. But it was also _nothing_ close to a grandma. Her skin too green, there was _static_ behind her voice, like Danny's. She was so _inhuman._ She was far more _inhuman_ than Danny was.

It frightened her.

The ghost picked up a piece of meat – chicken – it rotted in her hand, and she pushed it towards her mouth. Sam forced herself not to throw up at the stench.

" **You** _ **need**_ **meat."** She smeared the slowly rotting chicken against her lips. She felt bile rising up her throat, and she swallowed with difficulty. **"You** _ **need**_ **to eat."**

She wanted to open her mouth and tell her to fuck off, but she was _afraid_. She had a feeling this ghost wouldn't hesitate at all to shove the chicken into her mouth if she opened up for even a second. She was _not_ dying of suffocation from being force fed rotten meat. _No way._

It seemed luck was shining down on her, because a flash of white, black and _green_ came out of nowhere, punching the ghost from behind and sending her flying to the opposite end of the room.

For a moment, Danny was floating in front of her – his eyes _glowing._ She didn't see pupils – no, she only saw a solid _green_. His lips were pulled back into a snarl, and he said something to the ghost – something that sounded like gibberish and nails on chalkboard. And then he was flying right for the ghost.

She barely had time to process how _inhuman_ Danny seemed. She tried to focus on trying to wiggle out of her meat-based binds instead. Tucker ran up to her, grimacing as he pulled and ripped at tough, uncooked, and rotting meat.

"This is the first and _only_ time I'm saying this about meat – _gross_." He grumbled as he pulled at sausages and threw them to the ground.

Behind her, she heard Danny snarl something again in that same gibberish. The ghost lady screeched back. Uncooked kebabs with needles sharpened to a deadly point flew above them – far too close to their heads for their liking. She thought she saw one just graze Tucker's ear.

"Tucker, please, please, _please_ get me out of here." There was a whimper in her voice but honestly, she didn't _care_ at the moment. All she cared about was getting away from this _smell_ , and this _situation_ and the _ghosts_.

( _The ghost,_ she reminded herself, feverishly. _There's just one that's a threat. Just one._ )

"I'm _working_ on it, Sam." Tucker's face was contorted in disgust as he pulled at hamburger meat. She could see his hands shaking. He was just as scared as she was.

But it seemed they didn't have to work as hard.

The meat began to pull away, towards the ghost, forming the same meat monster as earlier. A large, disgusting thing – smelling of meat starting to _rot_ and its eyes glowing green.

( _Not the same green as Danny's, but something similar enough_ )

It _smiled._

The growl that came from Danny's lips was nothing human. It reminded her more of a wolf.

She turned to Tucker. "…time to run?"

"Never thought you'd ask."

Tucker seemed to know where the exit was, so she followed him. But the smell of rotting meat _followed them._ For a moment, she looked back and nearly _screamed_ when she realized the ghost was _right fucking behind them._

As they got to the stairs, the doors slammed shut in their face, and _rotten meat_ began to grow on the cracks.

 _Gross_.

They turned and ran down a separate path, the ghost still right behind them. But there was no exit, no way to go—

Danny _screamed_.

Another inhuman phrase, something else Sam couldn't fully understand, but he was suddenly right between them, his legs nonexistent and forming a tail that was translucent. He grabbed the two of them ( _so cold_ ) and a strange sensation washed over her. He picked them up easily, like they both barely weighed a bag of grapes, and flew _right into the wall_.

It took a few, heart stopping seconds before they found themselves outside. Danny's fast flight was suddenly sluggish. Fresh air felt like _heaven_ on her lungs. It looked like school was barely over, but it _felt_ like it should have been hours after school's end.

She glanced at Danny – his eyes were drooping, and with every second she felt as if they were about to slip right out of his arms.

"Danny, you look _exhausted._ " Tucker frowned.

 **{M'not…exhausted…I'm…fine…}**

With every word, they descended lower and lower until the three of them had fallen the few feet to the ground. Sam and Tucker caught themselves easily with a miner scrape here and there, but Danny stay laying on the ground, looking eerily still. He changed from ghost to human, but that stillness was still _there_.

"…Danny?"

A soft snore answered her. The sigh of relief that came from both her and Tucker was almost pathetic.

"…ready to carry him home?"

"And skip 8th and 9th period?" She took the band out of her hair to quickly put it into a bun. "I call his arms."

" _Hey,_ how come _you_ get his arms?"

"Because you didn't call them first?" She suggested cheekily, grabbing Danny by his arms and pulling him up.

Tucker pouted as he grabbed Danny's legs.

O~O~O

It was a process, getting the door open. Every month, the Fentons tended to move the extra key they had, and sometimes Danny would forget to tell them where it is. Tucker placed Danny's feet down, knowing he was light enough that Sam would be able to hold him for a few minutes, and he began searching.

"I hope Mr. and Mrs. Fenton aren't home." Tucker grumbled as he checked the cracks around door again.

"They're probably in the lab." Sam rolled her eyes. "They won't even hear us come in – _if_ we get in before school's even out."

Danny snored in agreement. It was _adorable_.

He could tell by the face Sam pulled that she agreed.

"Ok, fuck this, I give up." He sighed loudly and stuck his hands in his pockets. "You wouldn't happen to have a paper clip, would you?"

"Uh…" She looked at him, then glanced at Danny, and back up at him. "…if you want me to look for one, I'd have to drop ghost boy here and look in my bag."

He chuckled – and sighed in relief when he found a paper clip in his jacket. "Cover me." He told her quickly, before bending down in front of the lock and working his magic.

"You know, maybe I should be a _little_ concerned that you know how to pick locks." Sam said conversationally.

He glanced up, grinning cheekily. "You act like this _isn't_ a useful skill."

"I never said it _wasn't_ , but what do you need it for?"

He stayed silent for a moment. It wasn't anything _bad_ , necessarily. Sometimes he'd lock himself in rooms, or out of rooms. Other times, his parents locked away his various gadgets – usually in that parental attempt to keep their child from becoming "addicted to electronics." Instead of answering, he just shrugged.

"I just figured I should learn how to do it. Aha!" He grinned as the lock clicked open, and he opened the door. Inside was oddly quiet – they couldn't even hear anything from the lab. All the lights were off, giving an even more desolate feel.

Basically, Tucker did _not_ trust it at all. If he learned one thing from being Danny's friend, it's that at all times of the day, there's _always_ noise coming from the lab. There was no sign that Mr. and Mrs. Fenton had left either, so the darkness and the silence was…unnatural.

"Sam…maybe we should go to my house? Or yours?"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, you're not _really_ afraid of walking in when it's dark, are you?"

"It's not _that_. It just…feels off."

"No one's going to _attack_ us." She sighed. "Look, Danny's getting heavier by the minute and I'd rather drop him on his bed than on the ground."

He grimaced. The bad feeling wouldn't go away, but he didn't really want to argue. Not when Danny was unconscious, at least.

"…alright, fine."

They ventured into the darkness of the Fenton home. Sam kicked the door shut behind her with her foot. The resounding _"Slam!"_ seemed louder than usual in the quiet house. Tucker even noticed Sam wince.

"…ok, this _is_ pretty creepy…" She muttered. "Why the fuck is it so dark?"

"I don't know…do you think they had a power outage?"

"Considering their inventions? I wouldn't be surprised."

They moved slowly in the dark, knowing that the stairs weren't that far. It was full of stumbling (especially since they were carrying a fourteen-year-old boy in the process) but _finally_ , Tucker felt his hand touch the cool railing of the stairs.

"Sam, I found it." He grinned.

"Thank _god_. I thought we would be stumbling around in the dark forever." Sam grumbled.

"You know we wouldn't have – shit." Something caught onto his leg, almost like a string, as he tried to step up on the stairs.

 _Click._

"…what was _that_?"

"I don't—"

A suffocating gas suddenly appeared around them, making them cough loudly. Tucker held himself back from automatically pulling his shirt up to his mouth and nose, as that would cause him to drop Danny.

"Ghost!"

"Maddie, watch my back!"

There was a mess of pure confusion in the darkness and the smoke. Someone grabbed him by the legs, and he furiously tried to kick them off. Something that sounded strangely like a vacuum went off.

"What the hell – my skirt!"

"Let go!"

"Don't struggle, ghost!"

" _What is going on here?!"_

The lights flickered on.

O~O~O

 _Danny's in trouble again._ Jazz grimaced as she drove home, the words Mr. Lancer had said to her were still bouncing around her head. Starting a food fight in the cafeteria? Escaping punishment? Skipping the last two periods of school? Things like that she usually thought of with troublemakers and delinquents but _Danny_?

 _Making trouble is probably a coping mechanism, to get his mind off the trauma from the Accident._ Her mind supplemented with the obvious answer. But it didn't make _sense_ – in her mind at least. Becoming a delinquent…it wasn't Danny. It just wasn't something he would _do_.

 _He could also be rebelling against our parents._

She sighed. Maybe…she wasn't being the _best_ role model in that aspect - she's lost her temper more than once with their parents lately. But honestly, who could blame her? They haven't changed at all! You'd think after nearly _killing_ their own son by being careless with their equipment would cause them to change their tune towards ghosts and their "job."

But no, here they are, still endangering their kids.

With a louder sigh, she pulled up to the house, and went to put her key in the lock, only to pause.

The door was open.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door, only to be met with a dark room and confused screams.

" _What is going on here?!"_ She yelled, turning on the light.

In front of the stairs stood Sam and Tucker, carrying an unconscious Danny. Tucker's legs were being held onto by her Mom while something that looked oddly like a metallic vacuum had caught onto Sam's floor-length skirt. She was fiercely tugging at it with one hand, and her parents' hostile expressions turned from shocked to sheepish.

"Mom! Dad! What did you _do_?!" She rushed over to help Sam get her skirt out of the vacuum as they slowly pulled away. Embarrassment welled up in her chest – they were only lucky that it was Sam and Tucker who had caught up in this, instead of some strangers.

She looked at Danny, who seemed…roughed up? Almost like he had been pushed around. _Probably Dash._ She figured, grimacing.

"Jazz! We were…just…" Her parents looked at each other. She glared them down, before glancing back at Sam and Tucker.

"…go on and put Danny in bed. I'll handle these two."

They only glanced at each other, before nodding at her and bolting up the stairs as fast as they could while holding Danny.

Jazz took a deep breath before turning back to glare at her parents.

"What. Were. You. _Thinking_?! You _attacked_ Sam and Tucker! Danny's friends! What if those were strangers? Or what if your invention seriously hurt one of them?!" She pointed to the metallic vacuum to emphasize her point. They looked uncomfortable.

"The invention isn't designed to hurt humans." Her mom's voice was soothing, or at least she was _trying_ to be. "It's…a vacuum. Or, at least, it's _like_ a vacuum."

"I could _see_ that." She crossed her arms, unimpressed at how they were definitely trying to get out of responsibility for this. " _But_ neither of you have really tested your inventions, _right_?" She didn't bother to wait for an answer, she knew it already. "So, neither of you could have known if it would-would... _blow up_ or something! It could have _seriously_ hurt Sam and Tucker, not to mention _Danny_ , who, by the way, is still _recovering_ from what your _last_ invention did to him." She was nearly shouting by the end of her rant.

Finally, her mother sighed. "…Jazz, we can explain. It was…a trap we set up. But it wasn't for them!" She added quickly, seeing her darkening glare. "It was for a ghost, we _only_ make inventions that affect _ghosts_."

That did nothing to quell the anger and frustration bubbling up inside of her. "…you set up a _trap_ in our house? Without telling us? To capture some _ghost_?" She practically spat out the word "ghost." What the _hell_ is _wrong_ with them?! Did they _really_ not see what was wrong with the situation? What they could have _done_?

They stayed silent, glancing at each other with a grimace.

"Mads…should we…?"

"…possibly we made the…wrong calculation here…"

Suddenly, she felt extremely out of the loop. She looked between the two of them, completely confused. " _What_ are you two talking about?"

They looked at each other again, before looking at her. Their faces held shame and sheepishness.

"The reason we set up this trap was because we thought… _you_ were the ghost."

A moment of pure silence passed. Jazz stared at them, unsure what to say or even _do_. In the end, all she could feel was pure _horror_. Her parents, at some point today, looked right at her, and tried to _attack_ her. They left a _trap_ for her and, in the end, someone else was nearly hurt in the crossfire.

Her eyes burned and blurred with tears. She opened and closed her mouth. Her next words sounded close to a choked sob. "You two. Are the _worst._ " And, before they could say anything else, she bolted up the stairs to her room.

O~O~O

"How's Danny?"

"Do I _look like_ a doctor? Give me a minute."

"Can't you look over him _faster_?"

"I can't figure out how bad these burns are in under two seconds, Sam."

Danny winced slightly as someone picked up his arm – Tucker? – and began turning it. One of the fingers just barely brushed over _pain_ and the hand immediately pulled away.

"Crap, sorry."

He started to hear someone pacing, and the tapping of a finger on a phone. Everything around him was starting to slowly come back, but his eyes still refused to open.

"…Do you think the Fentons have antibiotic ointment?" Tucker asked while still tapping away. "…and gauzes?"

"I can _check_ but I wouldn't risk it. Jazz is still yelling at their parents."

Jazz?

He could faintly hear her ranting, but it felt so far away. What did Mom and Dad do this time to get her so worked up?

"Man, I'm glad I'm not Mr. and Mrs. Fenton right now."

"Considering my skirt was nearly ripped in half by whatever the hell that invention was, I don't mind them getting yelled at."

Slowly, his eyes began to open, but he winced at the bright light. He turned his head to the side to see Tucker looking at his bare arm, a grimace on his face as he looked over the burns. Sam was at his door, peeking in a crack before suddenly closing it.

"…I _really_ don't want to know what happened out there."

"Drama?"

"Jazz was crying."

" _Ouch_."

"Wha…happened…to Jazz?" Danny tried to get his mouth to work. He was _parched_.

"Danny!" Tucker and Sam yelled at the same time, hurrying over to him. Phantom winced slightly. He heard him yawn.

 **{Too early to be so loud}**

He nearly nodded in agreement, only to remember Tucker and Sam were still there watching him. So, instead, he looked up at the two of them, frowning.

"…how're you feeling?"

"…thirsty." **{Exhausted}** "How long was I asleep?"

Sam checked her spider-themed watch. It was a strange, black little watch with six legs poking out the circle. Inside, the watch was a web and the hands looked like little spider legs. It was kind of cute, and if Danny could remember, she never really takes it off unless she needs to. "Uh…I'd guess it's been, what, half an hour?"

He sat up slowly, grimacing as the few burns he had gotten, one on his arm, and the other on his back, screamed in pain. "…do either of you have water?"

Tucker turned to Sam, almost pointedly. She sighed, her hands resting on her hips.

"I'll run into the crossfire and get some water then. What else did you need?"

"Antibiotic ointment, gauzes," he looked at his phone, then back to the burns, "…I'd get some painkillers too."

"On it." And with that, she slipped out the door.

A moment of tense silence passed. Danny tried moving a little, but any movement with his left arm and back seemed to aggravate his wound. Even Phantom winced a little.

 **{Humans feel pain way more than ghosts do, don't they?}**

 _Do you regret being more human than other ghosts, now?_

 **{Hm…no. Not yet.}**

 _Not yet?_

 **{Considering I'm riding this out with you, I haven't had a reason to regret it.}**

Danny blinked in surprise, before fondness rose up. He bit his lip, holding down the smile that threatened to poke through. Instead, he glanced at Tucker who seemed to be still reading something on his phone. Probably for the burns, he guessed.

"So…since when did you become a doctor?"

He looked up, his smile weary, almost tired. "About ten minutes ago." He paused, concern flashed across his features. "…so, what do you plan to do about that ghost?"

"Lunch Lady?"

" _That's_ what you decided to call her?" His lips quirked up slightly

"I don't see _you_ coming up with any brilliant names." His teasing smile only widened as Tucker rolled his eyes in what could only be pure exasperation.

Danny paused as an odd buzz suddenly appeared in the back of his head. Phantom was muttering something, obviously to himself, that he couldn't exactly make out.

 _Phantom?_

 **{What? Oh, fuck, sorry. I was…thinking.}**

 _I can tell. What's wrong?_

He was silent for a moment, before he sighed. **{I'm just worried about Sam – Lunch Lady is targeting her, remember?}**

Coldness clutched at his heart. _...Fuck._

"I have to go back to school." They spoke aloud, only realizing they did so at the odd look Tucker gave them.

"What? You do realize that school ended a while ago, right?"

Danny sighed. "Not…for class. I need to find Lunch Lady and finish this before tomorrow."

"Finish what?" Sam slipped back into the room, on one arm, she carried the medical supplies. In one hand, she held a bottle of water, which she tossed to Danny. He caught it immediately, almost effortlessly, and began to chug it. The liquid was cool and went down their throat with a pleasing coldness. The noise of content and happiness Phantom made was almost familiar.

 **{That hits the spot.}**

He hummed in agreement – more than half his water bottle was finished. Tucker handed him pills, which he slipped into his mouth and swallowed with the rest of the bottle. Once the water was done, he tossed it to the side without much care, intent on picking it up later. As he did so, Tucker began slowly and gently applying the ointment to his wounds. His shoulders relaxed as the coolness added some relief to the heat of pain.

"So, other than that water bottle, what do you plan to finish?" Sam asked again, leaning against the door, crossing her arms almost as if she was guarding it.

Whatever Danny _planned_ to try and say to…soften what he was planning, Tucker beat him to it. "Danny is planning to go back to school to fight the ghost."

" _Tucker_!"

"Danny!" Sam took a step closer, her arms falling to her side as she hissed at him. "What the _actual fuck_ is wrong with you? Are you _trying_ to get killed?! You're already _covered_ in burns—"

"I am not _covered_ in burns!" He hissed, half from anger and half in pain as Tucker pressed a little too hard.

"Sorry." He quickly said, then shrugged, "But you have to admit, dude, she's got a point."

"So do I!"

 **{Why do they always gang up on us when we have good ideas?}**

 _They should understand how dangerous this is…_

"Just, _think_ about this – Lunch Lady is after _you_ , Sam, because you changed the school menu. If I let her go free _tonight_ and we just go back to school tomorrow, you could get attacked at _any. Time_." _That_ , at least, made her pause for a moment, a hint of something – fear – passed across her face. He continued, almost frantically, "What if I can't help you? Tucker and I skipped out on detention or _whatever_ the hell Mr. Lancer had in store for us." He glared her down. She closed her mouth, but looked extremely unhappy about it. "I'm going to the school tonight. And neither of you can stop me."

The air was tense as he glared at them both. Finally, Tucker muttered a quick, "Nice dramatic speech."

Despite himself, he let out a soft chuckle, all tension leaving his body. Even Phantom let out a small snicker. "…thanks."

Sam sighed – exasperated, and stressed, she slipped a hand through her hair. "…ok. Alright, _fine_ , you can go back. _But_ , two things. One, you have to bring us." She put up a hand, stopping his protest. " _Second_ , you have to tell us what _plan_ you have to send her back to…whatever is on the other side of the portal."

"The Ghost Zone." He clarified for her.

"That is the _lamest_ sounding name for an afterlife I've _ever_ heard." Sam said bluntly.

"Well _that's_ what it translates to in English." He told her for Phantom. She seemed confused, but Tucker jumped in quickly.

"Whatever it's called, I think we should focus on that 'plan' thing. You _did_ get your ass kicked today." Tucker finished up tying the gauze, and handed him his shirt and sweater.

Danny pointedly poked at Phantom. He could feel him almost pout. **{…she threw me off my guard. And I wasn't expecting that…meat barrier.}**

 _That's something I never thought you would say._

 **{I never thought I would say that either.}**

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he put back on his shirt and sweater. He was careful of his bandages, though the fabric did not seem to agree with his burns. "I…have a plan. Kinda. It's more of an idea." He admitted, opening his eyes to see the two of them staring at him in concern and curiosity.

"…I feel like we're _really_ going to regret asking but… _what_ is your 'plan?'"

And in that moment, Danny knew his eyes were glowing a bright green as he grinned at them, and told them his idea.

O~O~O

Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, as their youngest sons and his friends – unknown to them - transpired to go into dangerous territory, sat together in the living room; quiet, and unsure what to say to each other. Their invention lay just out of their sight – they couldn't even look at it at the moment. The sight of their eldest daughter in tears left a terrible taste in their mouths. They seemed unsure what to _do_ at this moment. What they did know, in the end, was that they would definitely have to apologize to Jazz.

"Jack," Maddie muttered to her husband, putting a hand on his shoulder, "…shall we go?"

He nodded, rather glumly, and they both stood to head upstairs and towards Jazz's room. As they passed the closed door of Danny's room, they vaguely noticed a heated discussion, but thought nothing of it. Instead, they stopped in front of Jazz's door, and Maddie lightly knocked.

"Jazz? Sweetie?"

"…go 'way." Her voice weakly called out, just barely heard behind the door.

"Please, Jazz, we just…want to apologize."

It was silence for one, tense moment, before Jazz called out again, "Come in."

The two shared a sigh of relief before Maddie opened the door. Except for a desk lamp, the room was mostly dark. Jazz lay face-first in one of her plush pillows, and she didn't look up when they sat on her bed.

"Jazz…" Jack put a hand on her shoulder, his voice low, "We…we're sorry."

Maddie nodded. "We made a mistake…we…assumed that because of how you've been acting towards Danny lately…"

She looked up at them, her eyes bewildered, though still wet with fresh tears. "So…y-you thought…" She sniffled, speaking slowly as if she were calculating and dissecting every word. "You _thought_ that because…I was worried about my baby brother…that I was a _ghost_?" She looked between the two of them. Even if they were said with a weakened voice, the words still came across as harsh, almost unforgiving. "Is that really what you two are telling me right now?"

They both flinched.

"Jazz, we just…want to make it up to you, somehow…"

"If you want to make it up to me," She sat up, clutching the pillow still damp with her tears, "I want you both to admit ghosts _don't exist_."

"Jazz, that's—"

"We can't just—"

"You _can_!" She protested, the fire from earlier was starting to creep back. "Think about it for one second – you two created this – this _portal_ that's apparently a door to another _world._ And how many ghosts have you two seen since then?"

Their faces must have said it all by the way Jazz huffed.

"…how about we make a deal." Jack suddenly offered. He took a deep breath, and spoke almost as if the next words pained him. "…we'll go out tonight, all three of us. We'll bring some equipment and look for ghosts. And, if we don't find any…we'll give it up."

That didn't seem to be what Jazz expected – nor Maddie, as both their mouths dropped open.

" _Jack_!"

"What?" He shrugged, turning away from her to stand with a slight grunt. "She's got a point, Mads. The portal's been up for a while, and we haven't seen a ghost yet."

Maddie opened her mouth, seemingly to protest, but seeing Jazz's watery smile, she stopped herself.

"…ok." She said softly. "Ok."

The two older Fentons went back to the lab after sharing a quick hug with Jazz. As they began to prepare for any ghosts they may run into, hardly noticing that their _Fenton Thermos_ was missing.

* * *

 **So, next chapter is the end of the first episode! I honestly can't wait, I'm in the middle of writing and re-writing the action scenes...it's tougher than you may think.**

 **Jazz...now that scene in the episode where she finally yells at Jack at Maddie made me wonder why she didn't snap earlier, when she was first ambushed in her own home. You'd think she'd get angry? The only thing that made me reason it is that, in canon, this has possibly happened before, where their parents suspected one of them was a ghost and tried to ambush them like that. Of course in this fanfic it never happened before, so instead Jazz is feeling as hurt as I expected her to feel.**

 **And how do you guys like how Phantom and Danny are so attached to each other already? I find them adorable, especially when they flirt, without even knowing that they're flirting.**

 **So! If you would like to ask me a question and get an immediate answer, you can contact me on my Tumblr pandoradoodlebox. I'll see you guys later!**


	8. Chapter 8

A few hours after school's official end, and Tucker was positive clubs were over and most of the faculty should be gone, the three of them decided to head towards the school. The (stolen) _Fenton Thermos_ wasclutched protectively in Danny's hands. Sam slipped the ointment and gauze in her backpack – "just in case" – she had said, with no room for argument.

It was almost laughably easy to slip out of the Fenton home. His parents, it seemed, had gone back down to the lab after whatever argument they had with Jazz (no surprise there) and Jazz hadn't left her room. It never ceased to bewilder Sam and Tucker of how easy it was for Danny to just walk out the front door without notifying anyone. He merely shrugged, claiming that maybe Jazz will text him later to ask where he is (and tell him to be home at least before 10), but ultimately unless he's gone the next morning, his parents will be none the wiser.

(He and Phantom wondered, faintly, why their looks were almost pitying.)

The building of the school at night seemed strange – towering and creepy, looking almost abandoned with so little people around. It felt…hollow, like the existence of students being in it was what kept it looking so lively, even when there were very few people there. As they approached the door, Danny looked over the Thermos with a frown. There were two different buttons – "Capture" and "Release." Yet when he opened the top, it just sparked and died. Whatever it was powered with wasn't compatible – or just wasn't enough.

They – he and Phantom – were starting to get a little more…hesitant with this plan. They _weren't_ a pair of scientists, and they had no clue how to fix one of their parent's inventions. So, between now and when they run into Lunch Lady, they'll have to figure out how to get it to turn on.

 **{We should have ignored Sam and Tucker and stolen this sooner.}** Phantom grumbled. **{Then we could have figured this out.}**

Danny could only agree.

"So," Sam spoke up as they were directly in front of the door. "Where is it?"

He glanced up from the Thermos. "…where's what?"

"The ghost." She looked at him expectantly. "You can tell where ghosts are, can't you?"

"Why the _hell_ do you two think I'm some kind of Ghost Radar?" His eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. Next to him, Tucker snickered. "I can _sense_ them, but they have to be _nearby_. We still have to wander around."

"Oh great." Sam sighed. "That's the last thing I wanted to hear."

"One thing." Tucker pulled at the door handle. It didn't budge. "The door's locked and I don't think any windows are—"

"Tuck." Danny fixed him with a look. "Did you forget I have ghost powers?"

He paused, then his expression turned sheepish. "…maybe?"

With a chuckle, he handed the Thermos to Tucker and took both of his friends' wrists, starting to concentrate; first on making himself intangible and then spreading it to the two of them. Once he was sure he'd covered all of them, he walked directly through the door, releasing the power as soon as they were all through. It was a bit…tiring to do it while he was in front, especially since it wasn't a random accident. He took the Thermos back from Tucker – almost hoping that if he holds it long enough, he'll maybe figure out how to get it working.

"We really should have brought a flashlight." Tucker sighed as he took out his phone, turning the light on. "I have just enough charge on this thing to wander around for about 20 minutes. Maybe less."

Danny blinked, looking around. It hadn't seemed that dark just a moment before. He realized, suddenly, that even if the flashlight was off he was able to see perfectly.

"Guys?"

"Yeah?" Sam turned on the light on her own phone.

"I think later we need to put down 'night vision' on the list of powers."

Sam sighed. "You lucky asshole. At least _your_ phone battery won't die immediately."

He shrugged, stepping forward to lead the way. "My phone is dead anyway."

"…that's fast." Tucker was a step behind him, focusing his light in front of him and on the lockers, almost as if he was afraid Lunch Lady would pop out from one of them. "How are we supposed to contact you if we run into trouble?"

He paused, then turned to give them a sheepish smile. "…scream?"

Sam rolled her eyes. " _Brilliant_ idea. Besides, we can't make calls inside school, remember Tuck? The walls are made that way."

" _Shit,_ that's right."

Danny paused then, without much warning, began nudging Phantom to the front. He was so bewildered he hardly fought the switch between each other. As Phantom stood in place of Fenton, the two next to them jumped in surprised, taking an involuntary step back.

 **{Danny?}**

 _Lunch Lady can come out at any time._ Danny said, almost cheekily. _Just roll with it._

O~O~O

 **{I swear I'm going to get you back for this.}**

"Danny?"

Phantom turned to Sam – she winced, but tried to cover it up quickly. He sighed. **{I need to be prepared. In case Lunch Lady shows up}** He answered the unasked, but obviously thought question.

"Just…warn us next time." Tucker had a hand over his heart, almost dramatically. "For a second there I thought we were about to get attacked."

He managed a chuckle. **{I don't just…switch like this only when I'm fighting.}** He allowed his feet to come off the ground, tilting his head as he listened for any sign of Lunch Lady. It seemed almost darker the further they wandered the halls. He pretended not to notice how Sam and Tucker kept another couple of inches of distance behind him. He _swore_ he could hear _something._ It was faint, almost like…something sizzling?

"He plays video games while in this form." Tucker was telling Sam with what Phantom could almost assume was a shit-eating grin.

"Are you _kidding_ me? That sounds like cheating."

"Considering how fast he took out a couple players? It totally was."

Phantom tilted his head to the other side. The sizzling was getting _louder_ – and he could feel the temperature rising slightly. It was enough to already make him feel even a little bit uncomfortable.

Behind him, Sam scoffed. "I bet I could wipe you guys out of the water."

A faint scent of _meat_ began to waft through the hall, just enough to make Phantom tense. A moment of blissful chill went up his spine, and the thin fog of his ghost sense slipped out of his mouth.

 **{…guys…?}**

"Oh _please_ , you wouldn't be able to even reach it to level two."

"And _why_ is _that_?"

The temperature in the room increased, yet Tucker and Sam seemed so absorbed in their argument, they didn't even notice.

 **{…guys.}**

"Well…because…you're…"

"What? _What am I_?"

 **{Guys!}**

They immediately froze, barely turning to him before Sam wrinkled her nose. "Ugh…what is that _smell_?"

"…is that…" Tucker sniffed the air, an incredulous expression passed on his face. "Is that _steak_?"

An echoing cackle went through the hall, their heads, and Phantom near _screamed_ as _flames_ began to lick up the sides of the lockers – skyrocketing the temperature. The Lunch Lady slid up from beneath the floor; a wild grin was across her face as she summoned meat to her. They formed into small, knee-sized monsters with glowing green eyes. But the heat made it hard to focus – made it hard to _think_.

It _hurt_.

 _Phantom? Phantom, are you ok?!_ Danny's concerned voice rang in his head.

 **{Fu…ck…}** He hissed, placing a hand over their core. The other gripped the useless Thermos, begging that their plan will work.

" _ **There**_ **you are!"** Lunch Lady growled, her gaze holding onto Sam, who was holding her skirt up, away from the flames that seemed to be inching closer to her. **"Are you back to learn about the** _ **importance**_ **of respecting Lunch, sweetie?"** The meat monsters let out a mixture of growls and hisses as they slowly walked forwards, towards Sam. Despite how _hot_ it was, Phantom still found the energy to float in front of her.

 **{You need to get through** _ **me**_ **first!}**

 _We need to get Tucker and Sam out of here._

 **{On it.}**

He glanced back. **{When you two see the opportunity…you need to** _ **run**_ **.}**

"Wait-"

"Danny—"

He hardly heard them, already racing towards Lunch Lady and the small meat monsters she had created. The four little monsters jumped for him, grabbing him with their _teeth –_

 _FuckfuckFUCK THAT'S BONE_

Phantom grit his teeth, just barely holding back a scream of pain. Ectoplasm-like blood was starting to stain the black of his suit.

That was _definitely_ going to scar.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Sam and Tucker run, he allowed himself a moment to sigh in relief before focusing once again on the monsters whose little bone-fangs were buried deep into his skin.

He flew into the lockers on his left, slamming his arm, as well as the monster clinging to it with its teeth, against the metal covered in flames. He held back a cry of pain as _heat_ licked up his arm and the monster fell into goop, cooking under the intense flames. With his left arm open, he twisted his body and slammed his fist into the one on his right arm – it exploded in a satisfying mass of meat. (Another odd sentence he never thought about before.)

The last two, on his legs, held on tight. Narrowing his eyes, he slammed them both into the lockers, hissing as it burned his feet but they let out shrieks of pain as they both fell into sizzling masses of meat.

 _Shit that hurts._ Danny hissed, and Phantom could only nod. This made _more_ burns and now puncture wounds that would have to get patched up.

… _where's Lunch Lady?_

He froze, and looked around, realizing that Lunch Lady was gone…as was Sam and Tucker.

 **{** _ **Shit}**_

And that is when the fire alarm went off, _screaming_ in his ears.

O~O~O

It didn't take very long for Tucker to realize there was some kind of purpose to the direction Sam was jogging. There was something unsaid between them – that there was no way they would ever even encourage the very _thought_ of leaving the school while Danny was fighting a Ghost (Lunch Lady?). But there was a heavy feeling of absolute _helplessness_ as they couldn't really do anything. The Thermos, which they both were 100% sure doesn't and won't work, was still in Danny's hands. Well, as far as they know.

Yet, here was Sam, who was still looking around like she had a mission.

"Where the _fuck_ are these things? Aren't they usually all over the place?" She grumbled to herself, her eyes on the bare walls.

"What are you trying to find, exactly?" Tucker finally pulled up the nerve to ask, now that he couldn't hear Danny fighting in the distance.

"A fire alarm." She answered, like it was somehow supposed to be _obvious_. "Those flames were _hurting_ him – more than usual. You caught onto that, right?"

"Well _yeah_." Was he allowed to be offended that she doubted his deduction skills?

Letting his lips form into a pout, he quickened his steps to catch up to her as she was starting to move even faster. How the _hell_ was she so fast? _Long legs, probably._ He grimaced, cursing the fact that she was currently the tallest out of their trio.

"Are you _sure_ this is a good idea?" He pressed. "We could get in _real_ trouble. You know, with the _law_."

She waved a hand dismissively, not even looking back at him. "We have time before the fire trucks get here to book it before they even know we were here. Besides," her violet eyes lit up as she found the glass box incasing the school's alarm, "this is a better idea than stealing a Thermos from ghost scientists."

 _Oh, someone's bitter._ Tucker sighed.

He glanced nervously between her and the case. She was stalling – hesitating as her pale fingers suspended in midair, an inch away from the case.

A shiver went up his spine, and he held himself, shivering slightly. "Hurry up, will you?" He rubbed his arms. "The heat isn't on at night and it's getting _cold_ —"

"Oh stop complaining—" She paused, shivering slightly. "It…is… _way_ too cold. It's not even this cold outside…"

" **Are you ready to learn to respect lunch,"** They turned, and immediately saw the green face of the Ghost. She grinned, the predatory grin did not match up to the grandmotherly voice that came from her mouth, **"** _ **sweetie**_ **?"**

Tucker was so scared, a scream was barely able to come out from his throat, which suddenly felt tight and condensed. But as soon as Lunch Lady moved to grab Sam, he _reacted_ , pushing her out of the way and turning to open the case for the fire alarm.

" _Tucker_!"

He turned, just in time for the stench of meat to hit him, and something like a _boulder_ slammed into his chest, throwing him a couple feet away from the fire alarm. He coughed heavily, trying to will air back into his lungs. His sight was blurry from instinctive tears, but he could make out Lunch Lady stalking (floating?) over to him.

The realization that she was going to give him another blow light that had him scrambling to try and get up, to run, but his limbs _refused_ to work. They shook too much, and the cold air made him feel like he was locked in place.

"Hey!"

A familiar, purple, spider-themed backpack flew right through her torso, making Lunch Lady pause and turn. Tucker wondered if Sam had a death wish.

" _I'm_ the one whochanged the menu, right?! _I'm_ the one you're after!"

That seemed to do it. He could hear Sam run down the hall, trying to get away from the ghost right at her heels. Tucker, on the other hand, stood up. Slowly, shakily, and went towards the fire alarm.

"I hope this helps…" He muttered, before pulling it.

The response was almost immediate. The blaring alarm went off above them, and water began to rain down, soaking him and chilling him even further.

If he got sick tomorrow, he was blaming Sam.

O~O~O

Jazz actually felt a strange sense of oncoming accomplishment for the first time since the Accident. A sense that maybe, for once, she had _finally_ gotten through her parents' thick skulls and they were finally going to be on _her_ side for once. None of their other problems will necessarily go away overnight, but this _obsession_ over ghosts has to stop.

And finally, _finally_ , she was on the right path to making it happen.

After nearly 15 minutes of wandering around town in their RV, (which Jazz was sure had more buttons than it usually did and was gaining more by the day) they hadn't seen a ghost. The _Fenton Finder_ showed no signs of "ghost activity" and Jazz couldn't help but feel relieved.

"So? Are you guys ready to admit I'm right yet?" She couldn't help but speak up from the back seat. Her parents glanced at each other, before her Mom turned back to her.

"Sweetie, how about we wait just a little longer?" She asked gently. "We can go drive by your school and then…we'll go home. Is that alright with you, Jack?"

He nodded. Despite not saying anything Jazz could feel disappointment in his body language. She was surprised – and a little disgusted – to find she hardly felt bad at all. Hadn't they brought it on themselves for doing this to her and Danny for so long? Ghosts don't exist. Period. End of story. If it took this to knock some sense into her Dad, she _shouldn't_ feel bad.

"…alright, let's go to the school." She sat back, pleased, and she took out her phone. She felt a little bad for basically leaving Danny at home with only Sam and Tucker without alerting them at all (he was _unconscious_ when she last saw him. What kind of sister was she for leaving her brother like that?) but this was…important. This was not only for her, it was mostly for Danny.

She opened up her text messages, and finding no texts from Danny she figured he must still be unconscious.

 **You: If you wake up before we come home, I want to apologize for leaving you, Sam and Tucker alone. I left food in the fridge for all of you though, just remember to check it's heated up completely before you eat it!**

 **You: Also check for contamination. I think Dad has been preserving ectoplasm in the fridge.**

 **You: Again.**

 **You: …I think I'm getting Mom and Dad to stop going after ghosts. Then we won't have to worry about that accident happening again.**

 **You: And…everything else.**

 **You: But I'll be home soon. Love you**

She glanced over her messages again, checking to make sure that she didn't forget anything, before nodding to herself and pocketing her phone. She hoped that he wasn't severely hurt.

They got to the school sooner than she expected, and her Mom pulled out the _Fenton Finder_ once again, spinning dials.

But then, she let out a scream.

It wasn't terrified, or of horror.

It was _excitement._

 _Oh no._

"Jack! Jack _look_!" She practically thrusted the Finder in his face, and from the angle Jazz was sitting, she could see the cartoonish icon of a ghost, just off the screen, facing the school. The little machine was instructing them on which direction to go in a monotone, robotic voice, but no one paid attention to that. Their eyes were transfixed on the little ghost that had appeared in the corner of the screen.

 _Oh_ _no_.

"Ha _ha_!" Dad let out a laugh of victory, looking over at the Finder with the widest smile. "See! I told you! Ghosts exist! I didn't doubt it for a _second_!"

Jazz couldn't help but groan, putting her hands on her face. It _must_ be a miscalculation or _something_ but there was no way her parents are going to listen to her now. She felt like crying again – in frustration more than anything – but she _refused_ to do so.

"This is a _nightmare_." She muttered, still covering her face with her hands. She tuned out her parents babbling in excitement, until she heard them start talking about _going in the school._ "Wait, wait, wait!" She jumped up in her seat, startling them. They looked at her like they had forgotten she was there ( _wouldn't be the first time_ ). "You can't just _go inside the school_ at _night_! That's _trespassing_!"

"But _Jazz_ ," her dad was nearly whining. "It's a _ghost_! The first one we'll ever see! We need to go in and check for ourselves!"

"No you _don't_ —!"

Something muffled, but loud, coming from the school, cut her off right in her tracks. All three of them turned, Jazz's mouth dropped open.

 _Is that the fire alarm?!_

"Jazz, stay here!"

" _Wait_ —!"

It was too late – her Mom and Dad had already jumped into action, grabbing whatever prototype inventions they had brought with them ( _did her dad just grab a net?_ ) and they both ran towards the school. From where Jazz was sitting, she could see them trying to break into the front door of the school.

She groaned and took out her phone once again, wishing she had brought her psychology book. But, if she did, she would probably be too absorbed in that to focus on the fact that her parents are definitely on their way to getting arrested in a few short minutes.

Out of the corner of their eye, she saw her Dad finally break down the door and the two of them run inside. With a loud sigh, she sent another message to Danny.

 **You: Never mind. I wasn't able to convince them of anything. We may be home late…if Mom and Dad end up getting arrested**

 **You: Long story. I'll fill you in later.**

O~O~O

Phantom firmly pressed his hands over his ears, dropping the Thermos in his hand, but it did absolutely nothing to quiet the _screeching_ of the alarm above him. Somewhere deep in his mind, he could feel Danny wincing, trying to call his name, but he just shook his head, choking back a sob.

 _ **{Tooloudtooloudtooloud**_ **}**

Danny's voice, somewhere in the distance, told him something.

 _Sam…Tucker…_

That's right. _That's right_. Sam and Tucker must have pulled the alarm ( _ **It hurts so much**_ ) and Lunch Lady was with them ( _ **Coming into**_ _ **our**_ _ **lair…how**_ _ **dare**_ _ **she…**_ ). He _has_ to find them. And he _has to_ get Lunch Lady _out_ of here.

But that meant braving the noise.

Slowly, almost robotically, he pulled his hands away from his ears and, at the same pace, picked up the Thermos he dropped. The alarms rang in his ears, making it _hurt_ so much.

 _Switch with me_

 **{No.}** He spoke aloud, feeling his legs turn into a tail as he shot down the hallway, part of him trying to just _end this_ so he could _get away from that noise_. **{I can do this.** _ **I can do this.**_ **}**

 _You're_ _hurting_ _yourself._ Danny snapped. He could feel the pull of Danny _trying to switch_ – and he could feel the flicker of light, of him being pulled back.

 **{You can't fight her!}** He fought back, falling from air and to the ground, holding onto himself as he _fought_. He growled and clawed at their arms, his gloves being the only thing keeping him from hurting them any further. **{I'm** _ **fine**_ **so stop trying to switch!}**

 _No, you_ _aren't_ _! I have the Thermos I'll be fine-_

 **{** _ **You**_ **won't be** _ **fine**_ **because we're** _ **still trying to figure out if the Thermos works!**_ **}**

 _Just let me-_

 **{Stop trying to-}**

Phantom let out another growl, curling in more on himself as he _fought_ Danny – it was an odd sort of war, as they both _pulled_ and _pushed._ It took a while for Phantom to realize that it wasn't just the alarm causing him to hurt, it was the battle of fighting Danny as well. Was…he hurting Danny too?

 **{Wait Danny stop-}**

 _Phantom I…_

The fighting died down, and they both lay there, sore and their core felt _strained_. Phantom panted, and after a moment he pulled his head up from the damp floor. His hair stuck to his face, and he pushed it away. Some strands still fell back onto his forehead, which he promptly ignored.

 **{…we're never doing that again.}** He decided, and he felt Danny guiltily nod.

… _agreed._

Nothing more was said as he picked back up the Thermos, just standing up when he felt a familiar chill and the fog of his ghost sense.

"Danny!"

Sam was running towards him, with Lunch Lady right on her heels. Behind the two of them, he could see Tucker running to catch up. His eyes widened and he hid behind a set of lockers as soon as he saw them.

 **{Sam, get out of the way!}** He took the cap off the Thermos, aiming it right for Lunch Lady.

Sam's eyes widened, for a moment, before she dived to the ground, next to a classroom door. Lunch Lady seemed confused for a moment, before she looked up and saw him. She glared before flying directly towards him.

 _I hope to god this works._

 **{I do too.}**

He pressed a button to the side. And at first, at one heart stopping moment, it didn't do anything. Then he felt it. A small, short pull at their core. A low _hum_ of energy. And then, the Thermos began to _glow_.

( _ **Isn't it supposed to glow green? Why is it glowing blue…?**_ )

In all under a few seconds, a beam of blue light came from the Thermos, sucking in Lunch Lady like a vacuum as she screamed in anger. Once her form was in, he closed it, ending it once and for all.

Except for the alarm, and the water, it was pretty much quiet for a few moments.

Before Phantom could open his mouth, or even switch back to Danny, he jumped as a familiar voice spoke in the distance, followed by footsteps.

" _Walk forward."_

 _You've gotta be fucking kidding me_

For the moment, Phantom was relieved Sam and Tucker were somewhat hidden as Danny's Mom and Dad ran up from down the hall. They both paused for a moment, staring at him. They seemed shocked, their eyes gleaming, he was sure, at the fact that for what was possibly the first time they were seeing a ghost directly in front of them. He wondered what they saw, exactly – a wet, tired, and injured ghost wearing a version of their hazmat suit designed for their son.

A ghost who, strangely, looks a lot like their son.

(Would they even see their son under this?)

He tilted his head. His Dad had a net in his hand. His mother was holding what seemed like a fishing rod.

He couldn't help but snort softly, his mouth widening in a small smile. _This_ is what they brought to capture a ghost?

"Freeze!" Their Dad seemed ready to throw the net. He sighed. They were _way_ too tired for this.

 **{It seems I've overstayed my welcome.}**

"Wait-!"

He ignored his Mom as he flew through the wall, heading to the skies and up to hide in the clouds. Under him, he noticed fire trucks flashing and their alarms blaring as they went to the school.

 **{…god I do not want to be home for Mom and Dad's excitement over seeing us.}**

… _I don't want to be there for Sam and Tucker's anger when they realize we left them behind._

 **{FUCK}**

At the very least, despite his blunder, Danny's bright laughter in his head lifted his mood as he shot back to the school, to grab Sam and Tucker before they decided to stick _him_ in the newly working Thermos for leaving them behind.

O~O~O

Jazz was tired.

Very, very tired.

She had to explain, very insistently, to the firemen and police, that her parents had _not_ started a fire (even a small one), and in fact they had run into the school when they heard the alarm. Of course, that led to the very messy problem of the fact that they had broken into a high school at night, but she managed to get them to at _least_ let her parents off with a warning.

Her parents, on the other hand, didn't seem to care very much. They were both talking _adamantly_ about the "Ghost Kid" they had seen inside. Which, all things considered, was probably just some random teenager who had snuck into school and pulled the alarm. (At least that was the story the authorities seemed to be going with.) They had basically ignored the firemen and their daughter, which she now figured was fine. She still needed to focus on the fact that Danny _still_ hasn't texted her back. Was he ok? Was he still unconscious? Did he _eat_ at the very least?

These thoughts followed her even as her parents talked about the _inventions_ they would make, to _capture_ this Ghost Kid they had found. It was easy to ignore them.

When they arrived home, she let them go downstairs to the lab, and ran up to go check on Danny, knocking on his door.

"Danny?"

"Jazz?" His voice sounded bewildered. She heard shuffling inside, and (remembering how the psychology book said that growing teenagers prioritize their privacy above all else) she waited "patiently." As patiently as she could, at least, with her hand on the doorknob. "…You can come in."

She opened the door to find Danny sitting on his bed, hair damp and his clothes changed to long sleeved pajamas. With a quick glance around his messy room, she realized Sam and Tucker were nowhere to be found.

"When did you wake up?" She immediately asked.

"…uh." He shrugged, not looking at her but his phone. It was plugged into the wall, charging, with the messenger app open. "…before you guys left?"

She sighed, sitting down next to him. "Sorry I didn't tell you we left. I thought you were still asleep. Did Sam and Tucker get picked up?"

"No…they walked home." He squirmed at her disapproving stare. "I _walked_ them home."

"That isn't better." She shook her head. "Are you ok though? Did you eat?"

"Not yet." He seemed tired. She sighed.

"I should have checked on you earlier." She stood up. "Make sure you eat something before you go to bed. And I think Mom and Dad are going to be in their lab for the rest of the week _working_ so there's going to be noise tonight."

He gave her a small, sleepy smile. "Alright, thanks Jazz."

"You're welcome, baby brother." She kissed his forehead, turning away and grinning as he grumbled, " _gross._ "

Even if trying to get through their parents' thick skulls won't work, she'll just have to focus on making sure Danny was ok instead.

O~O~O

Danny sighed as he turned off the lights and slipped into bed, staring up at the glow in the dark stars sticking up on his ceiling, mindful of his injuries. It was hard to patch himself up without help – he found that out quickly. But he managed to at least tie the gauze on somewhat adequately. He allowed his eyes to flutter closed, the events of the day suddenly seemed to crash down on him – he could barely _move_ , he was so exhausted.

"Phantom?"

 **{Yeah?}**

"…I'm sorry. About earlier."

 **{I've already forgiven you, you silly human.}** He felt a tingle on his nose, and his face began to heat up as he realized Phantom had pretty much sent him the sensation of _poking his nose_. A sleepy giggle escaped him.

"You are a _dork_."

 **{I guess so.}**

With another sleepy giggle, he managed to turn his heavy body to his side, moving his arm slightly so he wouldn't be on his burn.

 **{Oh…by the way, Danny?}**

"What?"

 **{We aren't eating any meat for at least a month.}**

Danny bit into his pillow, holding back a loud laugh. "Yeah…no, we're not."

O~O~O

Tucker sighed as he climbed into bed, placing his glasses on the bedside table next to him. He had, luckily, gotten home right before his parents – and had just enough time to shower and act as if he'd been home for hours instead of just a few minutes.

With another sigh, he rolled over and tried to sleep, but despite the exhaustion making his body feel as though it was under a bag of bricks, his mind was racing with the events that happened that day. It was hard not to freak out, especially after nearly dying several times. Danny seemed so calm today, fighting Lunch Lady (still a stupid name) without much hesitation.

Was it because he's a ghost now? ( _Half-ghost_ ) Was he just…more careless about his life now? He _has_ been acting a bit oddly lately, since the accident.

And just today, he—

He paused.

 _Today…he said "we" when talking about himself, right?_

His heart clenched. But he pushed the thought away. Maybe…maybe he heard wrong.

…but he should keep an eye on Danny. Just in case.

( _He just hopes he heard wrong_ )

* * *

 **So, Ep 1 is over! I hope you liked the confrontation with the Lunch Lady and the new things Phantom and Danny learned about their powers. (That scene where they were fighting for control was fun to write ^^)**

 **So if you guys have any questions that you want answered immediately just contact me on my tumblr pandoradoodlebox! Just a note - next chapter might be late as the day I'm moving is set for sometime in the middle of next week. So I'll be pretty busy as I try to finish and edit chapter 9!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Oh gods I'm sorry this took a while to upload! I'm still in the middle of moving and getting settled, all that's really left is helping to unpack! I'm happy I found the time to edit and get this to you guys though, so I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 _Cold…so…cold…_

 _It…hurts…I feel…in…complete._

 _Why does it…hurt…so much…?_

 _Why did I have to get hurt…?_

 _Help…_

… _me…_

Sam's eyes snapped open, sitting up, her eyes wide as she looked around her room. Her whole body ached, the floor under her was cold, and she was tangled in her blankets. Had she fallen off her bed in her sleep…?

"Weird…" She decided after a moment of contemplation, climbing into her bed. The strange chill didn't leave her, even as she bundled herself up in her blankets. A part of her brain, a very paranoid part, whispered that a ghost was in her room, watching her, waiting for her to sleep so it could strike.

She didn't sleep well that night.

O~O~O

The good news of the week was that the wounds he had gotten healed into scars within a few days, and Danny was thankful it was Fall so he had a reason to keep them hidden for a few months. At least, until he could come up with a good excuse.

The _bad_ news was that after the incident with Lunch Lady, Mr. Lancer grabbed him and Tucker first thing the next morning and yelled at them for what felt like hours – mostly because they had tried to "escape" punishment. And it wasn't like they could just tell him that they had _way_ more important things to do (like, for example, save Sam's life.) They were given detention until the oncoming Halloween school dance, in which they would be forced to help set up the gym during the detention. It wasn't _that_ bad – but it just served a reminder to the dance Danny hadn't thought about and wasn't even planning to go to.

(Who would he even ask who would _want_ to go with him?)

Tucker seemed _way_ more annoyed with the detentions than he was though. He groaned and grumbled about it after the first day, and through the first week.

"I don't get _why_ you're so annoyed." Sam popped a French fry in her mouth – one of _Danny's_ French fries, he might add. They sat in the Nasty Burger after one of Tucker and Danny's detentions. Her grin was teasing as she proceeded to take one of Tucker's fries. "I mean, you _both_ apparently started that food fight. And Lancer doesn't know that there was a ghost in school."

"That's the thing, _you're_ not getting blamed for the food fight." Tucker huffed, then batted Danny's hand away as he also attempted to steal one of his fries. "Danny!"

"Sorry, couldn't resist." He grinned, before sipping the milkshake he had ordered. It was for Phantom, really, but he couldn't exactly change right in front of the entire restaurant. Phantom grumbled in the back of his mind for the second-hand taste of what was quickly becoming his favorite drink.

"I still don't get it." Sam shook her head. " _Why_ did Lancer punish bothof _you_ and not me?"

"Dash." Danny and Tucker answered at the same time. She let out a noise of disgust and stabbed a tomato in her salad.

Danny bit into his burger, ignoring Sam and Tucker's still-disgusted looks. "What? I got over Lunch Lady a few days ago."

" _You_ might have, but _we_ haven't." Tucker groaned. "I can't _believe_ I'm saying this, but I've been eating _vegetarian foods_ and they _taste good_."

Sam rolled her eyes and turned to Danny. "He's been eating _pasta_. And he's _amazed_ it tastes good."

"I had no clue that was vegetarian!"

Danny laughed and sipped his milkshake again. Phantom whined louder.

 _Do you want to switch? Really? Right now?_ Danny sighed internally in pure exasperation. _For a milkshake?_

 **{I would kill for a milkshake.}**

 _I don't doubt you._ He stood, almost too suddenly for Sam and Tucker. "I'll be back." He promised them before heading to the bathroom. Once he had slipped into a stall, he took off his sweater - it was a dark grey, with red stars on the front – and changed into Phantom. They learned very quickly that to make sure clothes _don't_ disappear, they had to not be wearing it.

Phantom, grinning like a little kid, put the sweater on and put up the hood.

 **{Thanks Danny!}**

 _You're a child._

 **{Hey, I might be thousands of years older than you.}** He watched as Phantom went up to the bathroom mirror and checked his reflection. It was still strange how the suit they wore worked great as underclothes for whatever Phantom decided to put on. He stuck his tongue out to the mirror, opening his mouth to look at his fangs. His eyes flashed bright green as he grinned.

 _You're a dork._

 **{That makes you a dork too.}** Phantom teased before heading out of the bathroom.

O~O~O

Quite wordlessly, Phantom sat down in the place Danny had left behind, ignoring the scared surprise that came from Sam and Tucker. He was way more focused on the milkshake Danny had gotten him. The glass was pleasantly cold beneath his gloved hands, and the drink itself spread a pleasant chill down his body. And Danny had gotten him _chocolate_ today! Their core hummed happily as he sipped the milkshake, now finally looking up at Sam and Tucker who seemed to be calming down.

"Danny, you _have_ to stop doing that." Tucker sighed, relaxing his shoulders. "You nearly gave us a _heart attack_."

 **{All I did was sit down.}** He tried to say as innocently as possible.

"You _know_ what we mean." Sam glared at him. "You can't just… _go ghost_ randomly!"

 **{Go ghost…?}** Danny snickered softly in the back of his mind, and he allowed himself to snicker out loud.

She flushed. "That's just – what _else_ am I supposed to call it?"

 **{And you got annoyed with** _ **me**_ **for telling you what the Ghost Zone is in English.}** Phantom muttered before looking up with an amused smile. **{I actually call it…switching.}**

"…no offense, but that doesn't sound as cool as _going ghost._ " Tucker poked Sam's side teasingly. She elbowed his side.

 **{I'll remember "Going Ghost" though. Could be useful, you never know.}** Phantom promised, giving Sam another smile. Her cheeks turned a hot pink and she stabbed her fork in her salad, probably out of frustration. Danny gave him a mental poke.

 _Don't tease her too much._

 **{Shush. I'm not. And I won't}**

 _Sure_ _, you won't._

"A- _Anyway_ , that's not the problem here!" Sam hissed, her cheeks still colored. "The _problem_ is that you can't just randomly… _switch_ on us, especially in public!"

He snorted, frowning as he realized his milkshake was done. **{No one knows I'm a ghost. They usually think I'm cosplaying.}**

" _What_?"

He shushed them, suddenly aware that their baffled cries attracted a couple looks. Lowering his voice, he said, **{I come here as a ghost all the time and no one's noticed anything strange yet.}**

"So… _don't_ bring attention to the fact that most of you is glowing." Tucker said, sipping his soda. His voice was full of judgement, and Phantom couldn't help but slide down in his seat just a little.

"Sounds like the easiest thing in the world." Sam glared him down. "What other stupid things would you like to do? Tell the whole school you're a ghost?"

 **{No one believes ghosts exist.}** He said smoothly, or as smooth as he possibly could while sipping his milkshake. **{No one even** _ **noticed**_ **something was off when Lunch Lady happened.}**

"That doesn't mean someone _won't_ notice at _some_ point." Tucker pointed a fry at him. "I'm pretty sure we can't hide the fact that ghosts exist _forever_. Especially with how your parents keep the portal open all day."

Phantom couldn't help a small growl, and he bit into the burger Danny left – at least the taste of human food was able to calm him down somewhat.

 **{It's not like we can just stop them from doing tests.}** He grumbled after swallowing his bite. **{Though I would** _ **really**_ **like them to…}**

 _Well your idea to destroy the portal is a terrible one._

 **{And why** _ **not**_ **?}**

 _We have absolutely_ _no_ _idea what that thing is connected to. What if you took down the house trying to destroy it?_

He huffed, refusing to acknowledge he's right, but the smugness coming from Danny's side was obvious. He sent him a mental shove.

"I'm sure you can find _some_ way to convince your parents to stop testing so often on the portal—"

 **{Jazz tried to get them to stop.}** He shoved a couple fries in his mouth, wrinkling his nose. Why does Danny like it so salty?

 _Because it tastes good obviously._

 **{You should reevaluate the things you find tasty.}** He glanced back up at them, very conscious of how Tucker was giving him a suspicious look. He shoved more fries into his mouth. If Danny likes his fries annoyingly salty – _Hey!_ – then he'll just have to survive.

"Hasn't Jazz been trying to get your parents to stop researching ghosts since your accident?"

 **{Yep.}** He ignored their flinch when he took another bite of his burger. He tried to think it was the fact that they were still sick to their stomach over meat instead of being scared of his fangs. **{…she was** _ **almost**_ **successful the day we went to get Lunch Lady. But they decided to check out the school while we were there.}** Danny's bitterness came through in his tone. He wished he hadn't finished off his milkshake so quickly.

"Oh…"

"Crap…that…really sucks."

He only shrugged, biting down on his burger again. Time for a change of subject. If they focused too much on this, Danny will be feeling bitter the rest of the day. **{So…any plans for the school dance coming up?}**

Tucker immediately grinned. "I'm glad you asked! Well, _obviously,_ once I get a date I plan to go—"

"Tucker, we're on the _lowest_ half of the high school food chain." Sam rolled her eyes. She was hardly eating her salad anymore. "We're freshman," she began to tick it off on her fingers, "we haven't joined _any_ clubs, we're known as 'weirdos,' and Dash, who's on the A-list, _hates_ us. And the _whole school_ knows he hates us." She rolled her eyes, and sipped her juice. "We'll be lucky to even have people consider _talking_ to us at the dance."

"So…I'm guessing that's a _no_ on your plans to go to the dance then." Tucker said, slightly deflated.

She scoffed, though it was almost exaggerated. "Why would _I_ want to go to a stupid _school dance_?"

 **{Most people find these things fun, Sam.}**

"Yeah! Don't let your pessimistic view rain on _our_ parade!" Tucker grinned before turning back to him. "So, Danny, who are you planning to ask out?"

Phantom…paused. It's not like he didn't _want_ Danny to go – oh no. (Danny, as far as he could tell, didn't even really want to go to the dance that badly in the first place.) But Halloween…ghosts love Halloween. Even in the Ghost Zone he could usually _feel_ when Halloween was nearby.

People weren't really that wrong when they say Halloween is for the dead.

On Halloween, he would honestly rather spend the day with Danny – maybe on a rooftop somewhere, watching people trick or treat and maybe even get candy himself (chocolate was becoming another one of his favorites). Maybe he could even cause a _little_ chaos—

 _Phantom no. If we spend the day together you aren't causing chaos._

 **{…if?}**

 _Ugh…look, it's a dance, and I'm a teenager. Maybe I_ _want_ _to ask out a cute girl and go?_

An irrational anger bubbled up, making him scowl.

"D-Danny…?"

He ignored them in favor of continuing his mental _conversation_ with Danny.

 **{Why the hell do you want to go? I thought you said you** _ **didn't**_ **want to!}**

 _Phantom,_ Danny let out an exasperated sigh, continuing in an annoyed tone, _I just told you! I'm a teenager. And maybe I want to enjoy a school event._

 **{Who would you even ask out? You** _ **heard**_ **Sam.}**

An image, no matter how much Danny tried to get it to disappear, popped up of a pretty and very familiar girl in their grade. Annoyance bubbled up even more.

 **{Paulina?** _ **Really**_ **?}**

 _What? She's pretty!_

 **{She's part of the most popular group in school. Every guy and girl is drooling over her. Besides even if you have a crush on her, she won't even talk to you.}**

 _Y-You don't know that!_

"Danny!"

He jumped. Sam was staring at him like she thought he would attack her. It took him a minute to realize he was almost breaking the table under his fingers with his grip. He let go, mumbling an apology. Why was he even so _angry_ that Danny wants to go to the dance? It's not like there's anything _wrong_ with that…. Hell, if he was alive, he'd probably be excited to go too.

(That is, if he _enjoyed_ dances back when he was alive.)

"Jeez…if you really don't want to go, just say so." Tucker seemed nervous as well. He only shrugged, pushing away his food. Suddenly, he wasn't very hungry anymore.

 **{…no, I want to go.}** He finally muttered Danny's desire. The mischievous, vindictive part of him grinned. **{Just…the person I want to ask won't say yes.}**

He could feel Danny's surprise and horror. _Phantom, you petty piece of shit! Don't you dare—!_

"…who?" Sam snapped up, her eyebrows raised. "I didn't think you had a crush on anyone!"

"Yeah, you usually keep your mouth shut about stuff like this." Tucker grinned. "So, come on, who is it?"

 _Don't you dare tell them or I_ _swear_ _—!_

 **{…Paulina.}**

Tucker's grin widened, while Sam let out a noise of total disgust.

"Paulina? _Really_? Ugh, I thought you had better taste than _that_ , Danny."

He could feel Danny blush, and he couldn't help but let out a small laugh. **{Come on, she's cute.}** Oh, teasing Danny was _way_ more fun than arguing with him.

" _Cute_? She's the _hottest girl in school_!" Tucker was practically bouncing in his seat. "Are you gonna at least _try_ to ask her out?"

 **{I mean…}** He hesitated, before shrugging. No harm, right? It's not like she's going to say yes. **{Yeah. I was planning to try at lunch tomorrow.}**

"That's a terrible—"

"That's a _brilliant_ idea!"

Phantom grinned. Oh yeah, this will be _so_ much fun.

O~O~O

"Phantom, what the _hell_ is _wrong_ with you?!"

Danny's face was burning red – every once in a while, he'd glimpse towards the mirror, vaguely aware of how his eyes was glowing bright green. He could hear Phantom's laughter in his head, which only heightened his embarrassment and anger.

 **{What's wrong? You get to go to the dance like you wanted to, right?}**

"Yes – no – that's not—!" He let out aloud, annoyed groan. "You can't – Sam and Tucker are expecting me to ask Paulina out now! All because you're _mad_ I won't spend Halloween with you!"

Phantom growled – he hissed back. He didn't _care_ how inhuman the sound was. He just wanted Phantom to _understand_ that he can't just _do this_ because he's _jealous._

 **{I'm not jealous!}** Phantom snapped, suddenly making Danny remember that Phantom could still hear every thought. **{Excuse** _ **me**_ **for wanting to go with your desires. If you want to go, you want to go. I'm just making a path for you.}**

"Just – I can't _ask out Paulina_ at _lunch_ in front of the _whole school_."

 **{It's Lunch. It's a fraction of the school.}**

"That's _not_ the _point_." He growled. "You had no _right_ to do that just because I _mentioned_ wanting to do something. I was going to spend Halloween with you whether we went to the dance or not!"

That, at least, got Phantom to shut up.

 **{…you were?}**

He let out a loud sigh. Why did _he_ get stuck with such a silly, jealous ghost?

 **{Hey!}**

"Shut up, you know it's true. Anyway, I wanted to go just so I could actually experience a high school dance for _once_. _Then_ I was going to switch with you and spend Halloween together like you wanted. But now that's not going to _happen_ because you were such a _piece of SHIT_." He growled the last part directly into his reflection, pretending he was facing Phantom instead. He walked over to his bed and collapsed on top of it, grabbing his pillow to push into his face.

It was complete silence for a moment. Even Phantom's thoughts were completely silent to him. After a couple of weeks with Phantom being a constant companion, the silence was almost eerie. After a moment, he couldn't help but reach out.

… _Phantom?_

 **{…sorry. I guess I was…jealous.}** He grumbled, admitting it begrudgingly. **{…I just…Halloween is important to ghosts so…yeah. I wanted to spend it with you.}**

He couldn't help a small smile on his face. "…apology accepted. For now. Just don't do something like that again."

 **{Meh. I'll try.}**

"Better than nothing I guess…"

He felt Phantom grin. **{So…you still have to ask out Paulina, you know that, right? If you don't, Tucker is going to bother you about it forever.}**

He groaned loudly, grabbing his pillow once again. "I changed my mind. I don't forgive you."

Phantom's laugh bounced around in his head. He couldn't help but laugh with him.

O~O~O

 _I'm so…cold…_

She claws at the blankets above and beneath her, shaking her head from side to side.

 _So…incomplete…_

It hurt.

 _It hurt_ _so much_.

Something…something has to make this _pain_ go _away_ …

… _ **right?**_

Sam's eyes snapped open. Once again, she found herself on the floor instead of on her comfortable bed. She grumbled as she climbed back on her bed, just barely acknowledging the disturbing dream she just had.

It was…probably nothing. This was just a result of the ghosts she's run into, isn't it? When people go through terrifying and traumatic experiences, they have nightmares. It makes sense. This was all that was happening. As long as she ignored it, allowed herself to get _used to_ the ghosts that now plagued their lives, she should be fine.

Everything will be fine.

( _Maybe if she repeated this to herself enough, it'll come true._ )

O~O~O

It took quite a bit of coaxing, and apologies, and convincing…but he was able to get Danny to allow him to fly them to school. The whole flight, he could hear Danny grumbling to himself about how much of a "soft spot" he has for "his ghost."

He tried not to show how delighted he was. Besides, if it was up to him, he would have them skip school and go hang out with Danny somewhere to make everything up to him. But, Jazz has been watching them pretty closely, especially since their Mom and Dad have increased their focus on inventions. Besides, that was just prolonging the inevitable – Danny embarrassing himself "in front of the whole school" to ask out Paulina.

 **{It won't be that bad.}** Phantom assured him, as he landed, invisible, inside one of the bathroom stalls. After being sure no one was inside, he relinquished control and pushed Danny to the front. **{Worst that can happen is that she says no.}**

 _No, the worst that can happen is that someone takes a video of me asking her out, I make an ass out of myself, and the video goes viral. Then I can never leave my room again._

 **{Wow, were we always this dramatic?}**

Danny let out a soft growl. It wasn't anything near his, but it was cute enough that he backed down. Besides, today, he was determined to stay on Danny's good side for as long as possible. (He'd _definitely_ tease him about that growl later though. It was just too cute to leave alone.)

Watching the day through Danny's eyes is probably as boring as watching paint dry. He had no use for any of the things he was learning in class, but since Danny was awake, it forced him to stay awake as well. So, instead, he would watch things Danny seemed to let go over his head.

Like, Sam, for example.

Sure, he was trying to keep his concern for her under wraps but…after that attack from the Ectopus, he was… _worried_. He's heard about the aftermath of ghosts trying to feed from humans. The rumor _was_ that it made you powerful enough to be King. Powerful enough to become something…different.

But the humans…

No, Sam will be alright. She hasn't shown any sign that something was wrong. She's fine. Everything will be fine.

( _ **Everything will be fine, right?**_ )

 _Phantom, you're muttering again._

He paused, sure he would be blushing if he was in front. **{Sorry, I was thinking.}** He decided to actually pay attention, they were sitting outside for lunch. It must be warmer than usual.

 _I could tell. Are you alright?_

He felt a wave of fondness for his human. **{You really can't stay mad at me long, can you?}**

He could feel Danny's face heat up. And how he gave him a nudge. He laughed. It was hard to remember Danny was mad at him when he was so easy to fluster.

"Hey, Danny," Tucker nudged their shoulder, before pointing behind him – a wide grin on his face. Phantom just caught Sam roll her eyes before Danny turned – their vision settled on a tree that was in the middle of the school yard. There, miraculously, was Paulina, sitting right under the tree, eating yogurt. And, according to Danny's memories, this was one of the only times she wasn't surrounded by the rest of the A-listers.

Meaning, it was also the perfect opportunity to ask her to the dance.

" _Shit._ " Danny muttered under his breath. Phantom…felt guilty once again. He _really_ hadn't been thinking when he had forced him into this situation.

Tucker practically pushed him out of his seat, towards Paulina, goading him on.

 _Phantom please help._

Phantom sent him a shrug – how was he supposed to know how to talk to girls? There was one he talked to in the Ghost Zone, infrequently, but that was more like a partnership. Barely even a friendship. Something to get rid of the loneliness yet neither of them would admit it. Not really.

 _Wait, wait, you knew a girl in the Ghost Zone?_

Phantom sent him a shrug, watching as Danny hesitantly walked towards Paulina. **{Yeah, why is that weird? You're friends with Sam.}**

 _It's not weird! It's just…strange, I guess. You don't talk about her._

 **{You never really asked.}** He could feel Danny getting flustered. It was…cute.

 _You said you didn't really talk to people! And I'm not cute—!_

"Are you just going to stand there all day?"

The two of was, quite rudely, pulled out of their conversation as they realized they were directly in front of Paulina. She had looked from her yogurt to them, her expression screamed that she was already unimpressed.

Danny took a deep breath, and Phantom decided to sit back. If there was a show, might as well watch it, right?

"Uh…no. I'm not – I don't usually –" Their core was going wild with nerves – Phantom was sure their heart would burst in a minute if Danny didn't calm down. "…hi." He leaned a hand against the very tree she was using. "I'm Dan-NY!" He accidentally pulled at their core, turning his hand intangible and it phased through the tree. He fell flat on his face.

Paulina only rolled her eyes, sticking another spoonful of yogurt into her mouth. "Oh _please_. Don't tell me you've 'fallen for me.' That's _so_ last year."

He scrambled up. Phantom winced. The small sting of pain from where their cheek hit the ground throbbed. But Danny ignored it, still their core hadn't calm down.

"Yeah, no, no, you're…right." Danny sputtered out. "I just…wanted to ask—"

 **{Danny if you don't calm down, you're going to—}**

It was too late, with another pull at their core, another part of them turned intangible.

This time, it was Danny's pants.

Phantom could _feel_ the horror and embarrassment from Danny as his pants fell to his feet. He almost wanted to joke about it – how many times has he told him his clothes were so big they were going to fall off him one day? But he decided to wait until another day – he could feel the absolute mortification just oozing from him.

Paulina was laughing, nearly doubling over. There was something…condescending about it. Phantom automatically decided he didn't like her.

"Most gentleman tip their hat but, well, I'll give you points for _originality_." She snickered. Danny fumbled to pull his pants back up, ready to run but their legs were frozen.

 **{Come** _ **on**_ **, let's go. We can patch up your wounded pride somewhere more private than here.}**

 _I…_

"Nice going Danny," like a beacon of hope, Sam finally came around, putting a hand on his shoulder. Her gaze wasn't on him, but on Paulina, who raised an eyebrow. "You got the all-time record for drowning in the _shallow_ end of the gene pool. But don't worry, it's not your fault. You would if any _bitch_ was there."

Phantom could practically _hear_ jaws drop around them. He couldn't help a snicker. **{Thank Sam for giving us a** _ **show**_ **.}**

 _Phantom! This isn't supposed to be_ _entertaining_ _._

 **{Shhh we're going to miss it!}**

"Whoa, whoa, _back up."_ Paulina's eyes narrowed, as she stood up. "Did you just call me a _shallow bitch_?"

Out of the corner of Danny's eye, they could see Sam smirk. "Oh, look at that, female dogs _can_ string words together!" Without another word, she grabbed Danny's wrist, turning and pulling him back to the lunch table before Paulina could get another word out. Not that Phantom really thought she would, considering how low her jaw dropped open.

Sam didn't say another word when they sat back at their table, and considering the way she glared into her salad, Danny didn't really feel like agitating her. Not that Phantom really blamed him.

O~O~O

"I can't _believe_ that goth _freak_ called me a _shallow bitch_!" Paulina hissed to the closest person. Sadly, Star wasn't there like usual (some meeting or something with her coach, apparently) so she had the only other freshman A-lister to complain to – Valerie.

She didn't seem all that invested in the conversation though. Instead, she was idly shoving food in her mouth – leftovers, or something like that. It was some kind of meat with rice. Paulina didn't really care enough to ask.

"Why the hell is it getting to you?" Valerie raised an eyebrow, turning to look back at the table where the _freak_ was sitting. "Aren't they losers anyway?"

Paulina huffed. "Don't you _get it_? I can't just let this _slide_. I'm an _A-lister_. If some goth freak goes around calling me a _bitch_ without me doing _something_ —"

She was cut off by a laugh from her. "Oh please. As if her word means _anything_."

"Still, I _will_ get back at her." That earned her another eye roll. She didn't hesitate to glare at her before turning to look back where she was sitting. Perhaps people only liked her for her looks, but that just means she would use it to her advantage. It was easy to tell by the freak's body language that she had a _thing_ for the kid who tried to flirt with her. What was his name? Danny?

"…I have an idea."

"Oh, do tell."

She ignored the sarcasm. "I'll just steal goth freak's boyfriend from her. Easy enough, right? He was already flirting with me today."

"Wait, wait, so for this _plan_ you're going to…date him?"

"Ew, _no_." She wrinkled her nose. She wasn't doing this _long term,_ hell no. "I'll let him take me to the dance. That should be enough to ruin them."

"You do you, I guess. Dash is going to be disappointed though." She added with a snicker.

"I never _planned_ to go with Dash."

"Who _did_ you plan to go with, then?"

She paused, then frowned. She…didn't exactly have anyone she planned to go with. She and Star planned to hang out during the dance rather than have the two of them take dates – since they both knew Kwan, the only "ok" guy of their group, was already planning on asking Valerie. Remembering her plan with Star, she felt a twinge of guilt, but pushed that aside.

"That doesn't matter now. What _matters_ is that I need to get my plan ready."

"Sure, girl, good luck with that."

O~O~O

Going home felt more sluggish than usual. Danny could still feel the mortification and humiliation from what happened at lunch crawling across his skin. His mood definitely wasn't made better by how _funny_ Phantom found the whole thing. But it really was so hard to stay mad at him – especially with how he was _still_ snickering at Sam's intervention.

What can he say? His laugh is…( _addicting_ ) contagious.

 **{It wasn't** _ **that**_ **bad. I'm sure the school will forget about it…soon.}**

 _Phantom…_

 **{Alright, alright, sorry. I just…couldn't help myself.}** He let out another one of those contagious laughs. Danny couldn't help a small smile. **{Besides! Now that** _ **that's**_ **over with, you can hang out with me on Halloween!}**

… _who says I'm still planning to hang out with you? What if I'm still mad about this?_

 **{But…but…** _ **Danny**_ **!}** The whine that came from Phantom made Danny have to physically bite his lip. He was near the door, and if his parents heard him laughing to himself…well…he's not that good of a liar.

 _Fine, fine, I'll hang out with you this Halloween._ He chuckled to himself, walking over to the kitchen, ignoring Phantom's whoop of joy. "I'm home!" He called, mostly out of principal. Going by the fact that he couldn't hear anything from the lab, he figured his parents might be in there.

But, when he walked in, it was empty. Except for a small note on the counter.

 **{Do you think they went out?}**

Danny shrugged, before finding the note in the messy scrawl of his mother's handwriting.

 _Danny and Jazz –_

 _I went last minute grocery shopping! If one of you found this, that means I'm not back just yet! Could one of you please check on your father before you lock yourselves in your rooms? He might still be in the lab when you get home._

 _-Love,_

 _Mom_

Danny couldn't help the loud groan that escaped him. He hardly wanted to go down to the lab, but he would rather not face the repercussions later if his mom asked his dad if he had checked on him.

So, clutching his bag, he headed down the stairs to the lab.

It was a bit darker than usual – that was the first thing he noticed. The only light seemed to be coming from the swirling green ghost portal. ( _ **Still open? Why is it open? Close it. Close it now. Close it before more ghosts come into**_ _ **our**_ _ **lair.**_ ) In front of that portal, was their dad. He sat, oddly, with one of those fishing vests and soda hats – it would have been cartoonish, almost comedic, especially with the added effect of the strange metallic fishing hook with a glowing blue line.

 **{Oh** _ **fuck**_ **no, what the** _ **hell**_ **is he doing** _ **now?**_ **}**

Danny voiced the question (with less profanity of course) as he walked over, only to get shushed almost immediately.

"Quiet Danny, you'll scare away the ghosts!"

"…you're…fishing…for _ghosts_?" He could have laughed, if he didn't know that ghosts, intelligent enough to know where the line was coming from, would probably end up following it through the portal.

 **{We should break it.}**

 _That's a stupid idea, they'll just fix it again later!_

"Of course!" Their dad went on, without realizing his son was having a mental conversation. "This is the _Fenton Ghost Fisher_!" He reeled it in, showing the glowing, almost hypnotic blue line. "This line is coated with an ectoplasmic resin that is impossible for ghosts to break!

 **{Should we test that out?}**

… _when Dad is out of the room, yeah._

"Quiet now," he said in a lower voice, turning to the portal with the upmost concentration. "We don't want to _spook_ 'em." He threw the line through the portal once more.

Danny wasn't sure _how_ to tell his Dad that not only would he _not_ be spooking any ghosts just by talking a bit loudly (hell, they'd probably be more prone to coming nearby) but they also weren't stupid enough to follow a line if they had an idea of what was on the other side.

 **{I'm pretty sure word about us hasn't gone around yet.}** Phantom hummed. **{We still have Lunch Lady in the Thermos.}**

 _And other ghosts._ He reminded him – as lately they had taken the Thermos with them on their night explorations. It was _incredibly_ useful, to their delight.

Suddenly, the fishing hook was being shoved into Danny's hands, and before he could protest, his Dad said something about the bathroom before running off, holding his stomach as he ran upstairs.

That left Danny and Phantom, an open portal, and the _Fenton Ghost Fisher_.

…it would be incredibly easy to just break it, wouldn't it? He could claim it was an accident, that a ghost did it while he was holding onto it. Hell, he could even throw it in the portal and claim that a ghost had just pulled it through.

"…no, Dad will be back too soon for that." Danny muttered, regarding it with a frown. This wasn't a…dangerous invention. Nothing like the _Fenton Finder_ which _still_ tends to start up whenever they passed by it. But…still, who _knows_ what his parents planned to do with this thing?

Before he could decide exactly what he should do to it, a chill ran up his spine, and smoke poured from his lips.

 **{…oh no.}**

"You can say that again." He kept a firm grip of line as _something_ began to pull against it. "Feels like a big one!" He said through gritted teeth as he did what seemed normal at the time – reeling it in.

 _Snap!_

"…did I break it?" He muttered, looking down at the limp line, but a hand – no – a _claw_ came from the portal. A large, reptile – like claw, followed by another. A large maw, grinning, showing razor sharp fangs, came out from the portal. The line was held, unmarred, from in-between the ghost's teeth. The line fell out of its mouth as it _roared_ in his face.

A dragon.

A fucking _dragon_.

" **I** _ **WANT**_ **TO** _ **GO**_ **!"** The dragon roared in an echoed voice, moving closer. Its claws were as big as Danny's entire body. He immediately took a few steps back. **"I** _ **HAVE**_ **TO GO!"**

"Well _wherever_ the hell you're talking about, it's definitely not _here_!" Danny relinquished control, letting Phantom take the reins.

 **{So get** _ **out**_ **of** _ **our**_ **lair.}** Phantom growled, flying up to get level with the dragon's red eyes.

The dragon growled, and swiped down on him. He easily flew out of the way, smirking, but immediately had to move again as another claw swiped at him, getting their boot, and just cutting the side of their foot.

 **{** _ **Fuck**_ **!}** Phantom hissed, glancing down to see glowing green ectoplasm starting to coat the boot. **{Danny needs to use that foot to** _ **walk,**_ **you dumbass dragon!}** Phantom growled, moving in to punch its snout, hard enough that even Danny could feel the force behind the punch.

The dragon opened its mouth, and Phantom's eyes widened just before he ducked, getting just out of the way of a torrent of flames, before using their good foot to give the dragon a kick – with just enough force that the dragon fell, staying down. (Unconscious?)

Something glittered out of the corner of his eye, falling somewhere in the lab. He didn't bother trying to look – it was probably a tooth or something, and their parents would have a field day with it.

The dragon began to glow a blue light, and Phantom moves closer as it shrunk and shrunk before turning into a woman in medieval clothing. Her blonde hair was in a braid, and she gave off an almost _Cinderella_ vibe with how she dressed. Her eyes, watery, filled with tears looked up at them – the same red eyes as the dragon they had just fought.

" **A-All I wanted…"** She let out a soft sob, **"Was to go to the Princess Costume Ball…but… my** _ **horrid**_ **mummy** _ **won't let me**_ **!"** With a loud wail, that felt as though it had shaken the ground itself, she departed to the ghost portal.

 _I feel terrible now._ Danny sighed as he found himself in control once again. As soon as he felt weight on his injured foot, he winced and sat on the ground. He felt blood start to coat his sock and, if he doesn't hurry, it'll start to stain the inside of his sneakers too. "She was crying!"

 **{…yeah I guess.}** Phantom grumbled. **{…but if that's her costume, I'm on "mummy's" side here. Are you ok?}**

"If you're talking about my foot…I should be fine." He forced himself up, keeping weight off that foot. "…think I can make it up the stairs?"

 **{I have faith in you, if that counts.}**

He hummed, starting to limp towards the stairs as his Dad came back down. He gave him a dismissive excuse – that no ghost had even tried getting through the portal. He focused more on the pain and the fact that he would have to patch himself up. Again.

Of course, unknown to Danny or Phantom, the cursed necklace, humming with ectoplasmic energy, sat patiently in their schoolbag. Almost alive, and waiting, to see who their next owner would be.

* * *

 **Pros of having a ghost who used to be a trickster in your head: A funny conversationalist**

 **Cons: He's extremely petty and accidentally sets you up to get humiliated in front of a cute girl**

 **Poor Danny...and he can't even stay that mad at Phantom for long. He's already gotten super attached, hasn't he?**

 **...hm? Sam? Oh that...yeah she'll...hm honestly, I don't know if I can convince you guys she's going to be...100% alright. Well, let's cross our fingers and hope, shall we?**


	10. Chapter 10

**It's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry guys I had the worst writers block writing this chapter. Words refused to spin themselves together, but I finally did it!**

* * *

Tucker got the notification for the text from Danny first, before Sam did. It came about the time Danny would _usually_ show up to meet them before first period would start.

 **Danny: Guys, sorry I'm not there**

 **Danny: I kinda hurt my foot last night fighting a ghost.**

The words "hurt" and "ghost" seemed to flash in Tucker's face first, and he couldn't help the _worry_ in his chest as the images couldn't help but crop up in his mind. How _badly_ did he hurt his foot?

 **Danny: I got Jazz to let me stay home by faking phantom pains.**

 **Danny: Whoops?**

 **Danny: But I promise I'll be in tomorrow. It should be healed enough by then**

He snorted in amusement, but brushed it aside. Was Danny making _fun_ of his own pain? Shaking his head, he quickly typed out his answer.

 **Tucker: Don't worry about it too much. Just get some rest.**

 **Tucker: And would you stop trying to fight ghosts alone?**

 **Tucker: I can't patch you up if you keep going off on your own!**

 **Danny: Hey, it's not my fault they come after me randomly!**

 **Danny: Anyway have "fun" at school.**

Sam, beside him, looked at her phone and let out an annoyed grunt before pocketing it again. She looked…tired. More tired than usual. Besides, the way she snapped at Paulina yesterday was…normal, but not something she normally does _that_ quickly.

"Sam, are you ok?"

"Obviously." She huffed, crossing her arms. "How don't I look ok? First Danny asks Paulina out and now he's skipping school because he was being stupid. I'm perfectly _fine_."

He frowned. "Hey, don't act like that when you won't ask him out yourself. It's not his fault he doesn't know you want to go to the dance—"

"But I don't want to go!" She wouldn't look at him. He raised an eyebrow and she sighed, crossing her arms. "Ok, _maybe_ a _part_ of me wants to go. But whatever, no one's going to ask me out anyway."

Tucker shrugged. "I can take you."

The bewildered look she gave him almost made him laugh. She huffed and looked away. "Haha, very funny."

"Hey, we're friends, aren't we? No one's going to go to the dance with us _so_ we might as well go together. Hell, we can ask Danny if he wants to go too. It'll be way more fun than the three of us staying home on Halloween." He grinned as she laughed this time, a genuine one that made a bit of that tiredness on her face fade.

"You are a _genius_ Tuck."

"I have my moments."

"Very rare, once-in-a-blue-moon moments, yeah."

He nudged her, and she elbowed him back, the two of them dissolving into laughter.

"Now come on, smarty pants, we have classes to go to."

O~O~O

"Danny?" Mom stood at the door, poking her head in to the lump of blankets on his bed. "Sweetie? We're going out, so you're going to be alone for a while."

A low grunt answered her.

"If you need anything we're just a phone call away."

Another grunt.

"…bye sweetie."

The door shut and, almost immediately, a bright light flashed from under the blankets. Dark hair popped up from underneath and Danny sighed, running a hand through his hair. In the distance, he could hear the voices of his parents fading before the front door closed. Odd – usually he couldn't _normally_ hear things that far.

 **{That's another power to add to the list.}**

"Hm…you can say that again." Danny muttered, rolling over onto his stomach. He nearly regretted staying home – it was just so _boring._ But it's not like he could just walk around school all day. _And_ he'd have to explain to Jazz how he got this injury (he was unsure if Mom or Dad would notice) but the thought was just…not something he wanted to deal with. At all.

"Can we _please_ try not to get our foot injured next time?" Danny asked aloud while grabbing his phone. "I'd rather not skip another school day."

 **{I can't really control** _ **how**_ **they attack us, you know. We're just lucky she didn't take our entire foot off.}**

Danny grimaced, then scowled in annoyance as he realized his phone was _already_ at 50%. What was up with this thing? Sure, it's an old phone but it never usually acts up like _this_.

 **{Maybe you can ask Jazz for a new one.}**

He shrugged, opening up a game app, shifting so he was sitting up with his pillow on his lap. Really, he had absolutely nothing better to do until Sam and Tucker got home from school. He just hoped to _god_ that his parents will be gone for the rest of the day. It wasn't too much to hope for that, was it? It's not like it's necessarily fun to have them home…and he was able to talk to Phantom much easier without worrying they would walk in any second.

Besides, with them _out_ of the lab, that just means that whatever they were planning to make was going to take a little while longer.

 **{Maybe we can see what they're making for ourselves?}**

Danny sighed. "All they're making is stuff to capture ghosts. You know, like the Thermos, and that stupid fishing rod."

Phantom snickered. **{Ok that** _ **was**_ **pretty stupid. But aren't you curious? I mean, once they find the best way to capture ghosts, the next step is hurting them. Especially when they realize how hostile most of us can be.}**

"You aren't—" Their mind went over the way Phantom fights. The way he _growls_ in battle and how every ghost he automatically saw was a threat first and a friend second. "...ok I see your point." He pointedly ignored his smugness. "Still, you're being paranoid."

 **{I'm not being – ok maybe I** _ **am**_ **, but we're alone! There's nothing stopping us from at least taking a** _ **peek**_ **at what's in store, right? And we can destroy whatever seems dangerous.}**

"We're not _destroying_ anything." He quickly snapped back, annoyance prickling at his fingers. He hated that he _was_ pretty curious too, and besides, it's not like his parents were coming home anytime soon…

In his hands, his phone crackled and died.

"Oh _fine_." He aggressively plugged his phone in and, with a burst of energy he definitely didn't have before, he grabbed his night table and stood up, keeping his weight off of his injured foot. It wasn't throbbing as much as it was before, but he didn't dare check it just yet. (The bandaging was already pretty clumsy, and he _really_ didn't feel like doing it again.)

Keeping his hand on the wall, he began to do an awkward limp-hop out of his room and down the stairs to the lab.

It couldn't hurt, right?

O~O~O

Sam didn't necessarily _hate_ algebra, but it definitely wasn't a class she favored out of all her other ones. (Actually, she preferred English – she had a bit of a soft spot for writing - but there was no _way_ she was going to let anyone know that.) So, when the attack came, she didn't know if it was a blessing or curse in disguise (later, she would firmly decide it's the latter.)

It wasn't a _ghost_ attack – hell no. It would have been _hell_ if they had a ghost attack when Danny wasn't here _and_ she and Tucker didn't have a Thermos. No, the attack was her body deciding to fight against her – hitting her suddenly with dizziness, nausea, and a migraine that threatened to split Sam's head open.

She aggressively blamed the lack of sleep as her head hit the floor.

The classroom got loud very quickly, either with people hovering over her or those, she would only realize later, who were actually taking _pictures_ of her.

 _Well fuck you too._ She immediately thought, trying to push herself up on her elbows, but another wave of dizziness hit her.

"Manson?" Her teacher's face came into view, her face pulled into a frown of concern. "Are you alright?"

She tried to say, "I'm fine," but what _actually_ came out was a garbled noise halfway between a groan and a pained whimper.

Ugh, she sounded _pathetic._

Her teacher grimaced, before turning to the class. Her voice pierced through the chatter.

"Miss Gray? Can you please escort Miss Manson to the nurse?"

Oh _hell_ no.

"I'm fine!" She forced herself to stand, but found that was a mistake. The world spun and she grabbed onto her desk to keep herself standing upright. "Ah _fuck_."

" _Language,_ Manson." Her teacher turned to Valerie, who's expression looked as if someone just had told her to eat a whole clove of garlic. "Please escort her to the nurse."

Valerie looked as if she would rather throw her out the window than help her, but their teacher's voice held no room for protest. With a sigh that was almost overdramatic, she walked over and hooked her arm around her neck and put her arm around her waist, before nearly dragging her out of the classroom. It would have surprised Sam if she hadn't remembered that she was always right behind her in fitness exam scores.

Sam, at the very least, wished that she would be _subtle_ with how much she hated this. Instead, she grumbled in her ear.

"I can't _believe_ I have to take this stupid _loser_ to the _nurse._ "

"Wow, talk a little louder, won't you?" She didn't bother looking up, but she could _feel_ Valerie's glare. "It's not _my_ fucking fault that she decided _you_ were somehow a good person to take me to the nurse."

"Might as _well_ be." She snapped. "After all it's your own fault for getting into… _drugs_ or whatever—"

"Drugs? _Really_? That's the best you can come up with?"

"Look, Paulina has it out for you and I don't want to be on her bad side when she hears about this."

 _Paulina?_ She hardly pays attention to her – why the fuck does she have it out for her?

Then, the events of yesterday clicked. She began laughing, ignoring how her headache was turning into a migraine and the way her stomach churned. Valerie, baffled, nearly dropped her.

"Hey, would you—!"

"Are you _kidding_ me?" She interrupted her, gasping for air. "She's seriously hung up over that? Has no one called her a bitch before? Because it's sounds like no one has."

Valerie seemed completely baffled, because she just continued to stare at her. "…you're a weird girl, Manson."

She opened her mouth to answer, only to slap her hand over it. Her stomach churned even more. "…bathroom." She muttered, her voice muffled in her hand.

"Excuse me?"

" _Bathroom_!"

Valerie's eyes went wide. She near dragged her to the nearest restroom and opened the door before pushing her in. Whatever she said afterwards was muffled by the closed door and Sam rushing to the nearest stall to throw up.

" _Ugh_." She muttered into the toilet, flushing down her sick. "What the hell is _wrong_ with me?" she turned, towards the sink to wash out her mouth when a familiar chill went down her spine, circulating the room.

"…oh no."

She turned – slowly, as slow as she could – to find a woman in front of her, with sickly blue skin, glowing red eyes and long blonde hair pulled back in a braid. Even stranger, she was wearing medieval clothing. The gold around her waist and the circlet around her forehead was rusted over. The ends of her dress were ripped and tattered. There were numerous scars on her hands and around her neck, almost making Sam wonder how this woman might have died.

When she opened her mouth, like any other ghost, her voice crackled and echoed around the room.

" **Oracle, I'm here to request your help."**

O~O~O

The lab was much neater than Danny expected, considering his parents were experimenting with whatever they were working with just ten minutes ago. Endless pages of data written in chicken scratch were laid out on the table. If it wasn't for the subtle differences in handwriting, Danny was pretty sure he wouldn't have recognized which of his parents were working on which.

Danny let his eyes skim over the data they were collecting – all of it was in terms he couldn't really understand. But ectoplasm was mentioned more than once, especially with the word _harvesting_.

 **{…you shouldn't have left your phone upstairs.}** Phantom muttered. **{We should have Tucker look over this.}**

"He's a tech nerd, not a science nerd." He pointed out, trying to decipher the words himself. "Uh…god it looks like they're trying to just find safe ways to collect it and…" he squinted, "...wait…are they…trying to use it in _weapons_?"

 **{More like as an energy source.}** Phantom corrected him.

"But, ok, look at _this_." He grabbed a chair, sitting down and shifting through the data to grab the most recent blueprints. "They're trying to make _guns_ , Phantom!"

Phantom shrugged. **{More people to help us get ghosts out of our territory.}**

Danny paused. "…that's…true…"

 **{…there's also the chance they're trying to track us – me down.}**

"You're…gonna have to explain that one a little bit more."

 **{Who's the first ghost they've seen so far?}**

"…us…"

 **{So, they're going to want to** _ **capture us,**_ **right?}**

"Are you trying to say they're making weapons _specifically_ to capture _us_?"

 **{…ok not** _ **specifically**_ **us, but we'll definitely be the first ghost they'll try to get.}**

He groaned, smacking his forehead against the table and the papers. Maybe it _was_ too much to hope that his parents would leave him and Phantom alone while they do their experiments. But he should have known better. Even if he, as a human, asked them to leave Phantom alone, they would just ignore him.

"Maybe...if we _tell_ them…"

 **{I'd rather not be a test subject to poke and prod at. Besides, we're fine. We've got this.}**

"I'm 90% sure we _don't_."

 **{I thought you were bad at math.}** He could feel Phantom's cheeky grin, and he elbowed him back playfully.

"Shut up." He laughed, shuffling a bit more through the blueprints. He paused as one caught his attention – the _Spector Speeder_.

 **{You have** _ **got**_ **to be kidding me.}** It almost felt as if Phantom was making him lean in closer to it, as if that would somehow change what was written.

A _ship_ designed to travel through the Ghost Zone.

 _Wow_.

"Why the hell do they even _need_ this?" Danny muttered, baffled, and wishing he hadn't left his phone upstairs.

 **{Research, obviously.}** Phantom sighed. **{I mean we can't exactly ask them. But…}**

"But…?"

He could feel Phantom shake his head. **{It's…I'll tell you later. C'mon, give me control I'll fly us back to your room.}**

"…why the _fuck_ didn't you do that sooner?"

The only answer he got was an echoing laugh.

The first thing he noticed, as soon as he got back to his room, was the long string of voicemails and missed calls – most of them from Sam and the latest ones from Tucker. There was also a string of texts from their group chat, which he ignored in favor of calling Sam first. The phone barely rang once before her frantic voice came from the other side.

" _Where the actual_ _fuck_ _were you?! I thought teenagers don't leave their phone's side for two seconds!"_

"I think you're thinking of Tuck." He tried joking, but it didn't even get him a pity chuckle. "What's going on?"

" _We have…a situation."_ Sam sounded…stressed. _"It's too…much to explain on the phone. Just get over here and meet us in the library's computer lab."_

" _There's no attendant at the front desk today."_ Tucker's voice was slightly distant, but he could still hear him just fine. _"So, you can just walk in."_

"…Guys, are you asking me to _sneak into_ school?"

" _Now is_ _not_ _the time for jokes!"_ She hissed back. _"Just get_ _over_ _here. Lab number 4. And_ _hurry._ _"_ And with that, she hung up.

"Phantom…?"

 **{I'll fly us there. Just grab your backpack. I'm pretty sure we're going to need the Thermos.}**

He nodded, leaning against his table as he slipped his backpack on, his mind on Sam. What the hell _happened_ that got her so riled up?

The library in Casper High is by the corner of the school, usually with an attendant at a front desk to make sure you have a pass to get in. When Phantom had them land in the nearest empty bathroom and switch, Danny couldn't help but feel _slight_ anxiety. After all, if the attendant _was_ there, now he'd have to probably pass them while invisible. And considering this is a school (and he has no idea how the "notice me not" power works) he can't exactly do that easily.

So, with that on his mind, he headed towards the library, keeping his mind on Lab Number 4, limping the whole way.

And, because he wasn't paying attention, it wasn't a surprise that he ran right into someone. With his foot injured, he couldn't properly keep his balance. His back and backpack hit the floor, and something clattered onto the ground next to his head.

" _Shit_ …"

"Oh!" Above him, _Paulina_ stood, her eyes wide. "Danny!" Her voice lowered into a purr. "I thought you weren't in today – have you been hiding from me?" She hovered over him, and all of a sudden he felt like some kind of animal she had trapped into a cage.

"Uh…no?" Why was Paulina even talking to him? Shouldn't she be avoiding him for basically humiliating himself in front of her? And…does this mean she's been _looking_ for him?

 **{I have a bad feeling about this…we need to go.}** Phantom practically forced him to stand. Danny could feel him glaring Paulina down – almost making the room chill just by himself. **{Sam and Tucker are waiting after all.}**

 _Are you…jealous?_ He bit inside his cheek to hold back his laughter, though found it difficult when he felt the chill of Phantom blushing. He probably would have teased him even more but Paulina let out a loud gasp, her eyes glued to the floor. Danny followed her gaze, and his eyes landed on a beautiful necklace. The chain seemed to be made of gold, connected to a green jewel that reminded Danny faintly of Phantom's eyes. It was familiar, but he couldn't pin _where_ exactly he had seen it.

"That's _beautiful_!" She squealed, picking it up, her eyes glittering green, reflecting the jewel. "It's for me, isn't it?" She purred, taking a step closer. Subconsciously, Danny found himself taking a step back.

"I-It's for… _what_?"

"The _dance,_ silly!" She giggled. "You wanted to ask me to the dance, didn't you?"

"Well _yeah—_ "

"And this necklace is a present!"

 **{She really enjoys jumping to conclusions, doesn't she?}**

Danny, practically _dizzy_ from her talking in circles, and the wide grin she was giving him, found himself only nodding. She squealed and immediately put the necklace on.

"I look good in it, don't I?"

"It…definitely stands out…" And it did. The heavy-looking necklace contrasted shockingly with her pink shirt and pastel purple jacket. Her eyes seemed to almost give off the same green light as the necklace, tinted _red_.

"Well, thank you Danny! See you later~" She winked, before turning and walking off in the other direction, leaving him utterly flabbergasted.

"Did…did I just get a _date_ to the _dance_?" He muttered.

 **{Yeah, you** _ **did**_ **. I guess that means our plans are cancelled.}**

 _Hey, wait a second! Don't go acting like this is_ _my_ _fault! You're the reason I went to go ask Paulina in the first place! I never knew she'd actually be_ _interested!_

 **{Well you didn't have to say** _ **yes**_ **!}**

 _You_ _try saying "no" when someone's talking circles around you!_

Instead of gracing him with an answer, Phantom grumbled. Suddenly, his presence felt…diminished. Not that it vanished, but as if he had walked off to sit in the corner. Danny rolled his eyes and walked into the library. He'd deal with his temperamental ghost later – Sam and Tucker had some kind of emergency.

Computer Lab Number 4, like on most days, was empty except for Sam and Tucker who sat in the back, the two of them at different computers. He could tell they hadn't heard the heavy door open and close, or hear him as he walked up to them.

"So…what happened?"

Sam jumped first, nearly lashing out. Instead, she glared at him as if _he_ was to blame for her reaction. He was almost startled – she looked like _shit_. She was pale, her cheeks flushed as if she was coming down from a fever. He could feel Phantom's interest piqued, and yet he didn't say anything.

"Where have you _been_?" She demanded almost immediately.

"Limping my way here." He answered dryly, grabbing one of the chairs to finally sit between them.

Tucker, at the very least, looked sympathetic. "How's your foot?"

"Better." He answered truthfully. "It stopped bleeding. But, I'm not important. What _happened_?"

Sam and Tucker glanced at each other before Tucker waved a hand.

" _You_ should tell him."

She took a deep breath. "Ok…alright. Earlier today…I suddenly got really sick in class. I nearly fainted and I threw up later—"

"Holy _shit,_ are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She quickly answered. "Just…later…a ghost appeared in front of me. And…she called me an Oracle."

O~O~O

 _Sam stared, bewildered at the ghost in front of her. She kept a grip on the sink, more than aware that she didn't have the strength to run away. For a moment, she thought of screaming for help – but who_ _could_ _help?_

" _ **You're frightened."**_ _The ghost seemed…guilty? Or like she_ _felt_ _guilty._ _ **"Please forgive my sudden entrance, but I needed to request your help as soon as possible."**_

 _Her mind was reeling, not just from the headache. "…just…give me a moment…uh…you aren't…going to kill me?"_

 _To her absolute surprise, the woman looked almost offended._ _ **"I don't hurt those who haven't angered me. Well…"**_ _she sighed._ _ **"That's the problem. I cannot hurt those when I am angered anymore. I've lost what has given me power, and if I search myself, I am afraid the Ghost Child who has taken this territory as his own would be furious with me."**_

" _You're…gonna have to back up just a little…" She took a deep breath, wishing she had the Thermos with her or at least the energy to run from this. For now, if the ghost just wanted to talk…it didn't_ _hurt_ _to continue the conversation. "What do you mean you 'can't hurt people anymore?' Why would you_ _want_ _to hurt people?"_

" _ **The**_ _ **G**_ _ **̶́͢͜͞**_ _ **h**_ _ **̴̨̛͢**_ _ **o**_ _ **̷̧͘s̴̢̀͠t̀̕ ̸̢̛Z̸̧̨͘͢ó̧͘ǹ̴̢e͡**_ _ **͏,"**_ _her voice, suddenly speaking in a language she did not know, filled with static before she continued,_ _"_ _ **is a terrible place, sometimes you meet those who are peaceful, and those who are hostile. My power allowed those around me to fear battle. But I was foolish, curious, and I've lost my amulet here in the Human World!"**_ _Her voice trailed off into a despair-filled wail. Large, light green tears fell down her face as she sobbed. Her screeching rang in Sam's ears. She immediately put her hands over her ears – the lights in the bathroom flickered and nearly went out._ _ **"Who knows what the other ghosts will do to me and my lair once they find out – and my Mother! My Mother will surely be disappointed! My Brother will not hesitate to send me to the dungeons for my incompetence—!"**_

" _Ok! Ok I get it! Just stop crying!" Sam hissed, watching the door with a pounding heart. They were trying to_ _control_ _the situation, not make it worse. "I…I guess I'll find your amulet for you? Why would you even go to_ _me_ _for this?"_

 _The ghost sniffled._ _ **"You are the nearest Oracle in the area. And I've told you already, the Ghost Child will surely destroy me if he found me in his lair."**_

 _That didn't clear it up at all, but Sam still nodded. "O-Ok just…what's your name and what does your amulet look like and do? I can't go off of nothing."_

" _ **My name is Dora. My amulet is gold, with a green jewel, and most will say it is a cursed object. Whenever I lose my temper, I am transformed into a dragon."**_

 _Sam felt like_ _screaming_ _. Why the hell was something like_ _that_ _in the human world? Does this mean there was someone that could snap at someone and turn into a_ _dragon_ _running around?_

"… _and…where did you last see this amulet?"_

" _ **I had run into the Ghost Child…"**_ _She looked almost sheepish._ _ **"I fought him and I lost it in the midst of the battle. I was fortunate enough that he was not angered enough with me to let me escape."**_

" _R-Right…I'll…find your amulet for you then…"_

 _She beamed._ _ **"Thank you, Oracle! I will not forget your kindness!"**_

O~O~O

"…and she left."

Danny stared, his mouth falling open and his eyes wide. "S-So…?"

" _So,_ " Sam turned to computer, almost frantically. "We've been working to research on this bullshit. Whatever the hell _Oracle_ means to ghosts isn't the same as humans. Because to _us_ it means telling the future—"

" **It's a human who's soul has been touched by a ghost. Someone who is sensitive to us, and that ghosts can go to for help."** Phantom suddenly spoke, both sheepish and worried. Sam and Tucker stared.

"You…knew this already…?" Sam whispered, before her voice turned into a growl. "And you didn't _tell me_ when that _happened_?!"

"I-I…" Danny sputtered. "I barely even knew myself!"

"Then how come you just _explained it to us_?!"

"That wasn't – I –!" He faltered. Why the hell _hadn't_ Phantom said anything earlier? He poked at him, but he still didn't answer. Quickly, he just shrugged. "I guess…there's some things ghosts…innately know?"

She fixed him with another glare that said, _"you're on thin ice,"_ before she sighed, "I…need time to think. And you're going to tell me _everything_ you know about this Oracle shit." She then turned to Tucker, "And _you've_ found something about the amulet, right?"

"Yeah, of course I do." He pulled up the picture of the exact necklace Danny had earlier. He could _feel_ his heart drop in his chest.

 _Oh no._

" _The Cursed Amulet,"_ Tucker read off the website, " _those with terrible tempers are said to turn into a horrible beast while wearing it._ _Legend says the last who held it was a young princess held captive by her cruel mother and brother. When she snapped, in protest of wishing to go to the royal ball and meet her suitor, she turned into a dragon, killed her mother and everyone who attended the ball. Her brother, who also held a similar amulet, fought her and they both died in the rubble of the castle. From then on, both amulets have been lost."_ Tucker looked back up, "So, obviously, she – Dora I guess? Was buried with her amulet, so technically since the amulet _died_ I guess it followed her to the afterlife?"

Sam sighed once again. "Great, wonderful. So that amulet that killed a bunch of people is just, you know, with whoever the hell the 'Ghost Child' is."

Tucker, not seeming to notice how pale Danny was sure he was getting, frowned. "How the hell are we supposed to figure out who _that_ is? Who knows how many ghosts are in Amity by now. And we have no way to _track_ them! _And_ if they have the amulet, how are we going to get them to hand it over? They sound like a pretty dangerous ghost if they can beat up a dragon."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Danny said dryly, head in his hands. He could feel Sam and Tucker's eyes on him.

" _You're_ the Ghost Child?!"

"How do you think I got this cut on my foot? I fought a dragon and she turned into a lady in front of me." He squirmed as Tucker grinned triumphantly.

"Awesome! Our search is almost over then!"

"You… _do_ know where the amulet is, don't you?" Sam asked slowly.

"Uh...well…" He said slowly, "I…think it fell into my backpack during the fight…"

"Weird." Tucker hummed.

"And…I didn't realize until I bumped into…someone…before I got here. Because it fell _out_ of my backpack."

Sam and Tucker went quiet, staring at him in pure horror.

"A-And…" He gulped. "That person…uh…well, she thought it was a gift for when I'd ask her to the dance…"

"Oh _no_."

Sam closed her eyes, rubbing her temples. "Danny. _Please_ don't tell me you gave a _cursed amulet_ who turns people into a _dragon_ to _Paulina_."

"…then I won't tell you."

With that answer, he wasn't at all surprised when she grabbed her backpack, stuffed her face into it, and _screamed._


	11. Chapter 11

**Holy shit I really made ya'll wait _4 months_ for this chapter? I am a bitch I'm sorry guys. I was trying to get my shit together with the college over here and I was attending summer classes (I'm procrastinating on some important assignments as I type lmao) **

**If you don't remember what happened last time (and don't feel like reading back) a quick recap: Sam is contacted by Dora, and learns she's something called an Oracle to ghosts. Paulina got Dora's amulet from Danny, and now Sam and Tucker has learned what Danny accidentally did.**

 **Either way, please enjoy!**

* * *

It was silent as Sam screamed into her backpack – pure frustration just leaking out of her. Even as her muffled scream died down to nothing, Danny could feel himself hold his breath in anticipation of her anger. But, she didn't look up. She didn't even move from her backpack. He waited another minute before turning to Tucker. He whispered, as if he was trying not to capture her attention.

"You know, in my defense, I had no clue what that amulet was or who it belonged to when it fell out of my backpack."

The look Tucker gave him was unimpressed at best, disappointed at worst. "You know that's even worse, right? An expensive-looking necklace falls from your backpack and you don't even consider it might belong to your sister or your mom?"

"Mom keeps her jewelry locked away and barely wears them anyway." He couldn't remember the last time his mom wore jewelry, or much less wore something other than her Hazmat Suit. "And Jazz—" he paused. He has never seen Jazz go out to have fun or do anything that required dressing up. So instead, he shrugged. "I don't think she'd own something like this."

"So, you just suddenly had an amulet that couldn't belong to your Mom or sister, one that you know you didn't buy…and you still gave it to Paulina?"

"When you say it like that, it sounds bad." He huffed, his face heating up in embarrassment. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he could hear Phantom chuckle. His face grew hotter.

Tucker shook his head and turned to Sam, frowning in worry. "…hey, Sam? Sam?" He glanced at Danny, who shrugged. He wouldn't dare try to agitate her right now. Tucker let out a deep breath, as if he was preparing to go into a major battle, before nudging her. " _Sam_?"

Sam let out a loud, muffled sigh before looking up slowly. She rubbed her eyes, keeping her face in her hands. "…if either of you have an idea for how we can get that necklace away from Paulina, I'm all ears."

"Can't I just…ask for it back?"

Sam gave him a look like that was the most preposterous, stupidest idea she'd ever heard in her life.

"What?"

"This is _Paulina_ we're talking about. Even if you ask for it back, she'll just talk circles around you again to keep it."

"Are you trying to say we should steal it from her?" He snapped back sarcastically, covering up his embarrassment at how obviously stupid his idea was. But, it was hard to ignore how he could feel Phantom perk up.

 **{I can do that. It wouldn't take a lot of work. Just wait until she takes it off…}**

 _No, no, we aren't stealing anything. That'll just make this more complicated._

Sam, though, had an inquisitive look, raising an eyebrow. "You know, actually…"

"Sam!"

"What?" She crossed her arms, glaring him down. "It's not a terrible idea and, honestly, I'd rather not deal with a dragon Paulina roaming around the school, killing anyone who pisses her off even a little."

"She's got a point, dude." Tucker spoke up, grinning sheepishly when Danny turned to him, his expression incredulous. "I mean, we all know Paulina probably won't just hand it over. And that Ghost is just going to hang around who-knows-where until we get her amulet back. And if we use your ghost powers, she'll never know it was you!"

His voice was a near shout towards the end, so Danny quickly shushed him, glancing at the door. Only a few students sitting at tables near the door glanced over, but other than that there was no reaction.

 **{Come on, you know they're right. With our powers, it'll be easy to grab the amulet from her once she puts her guard down.}**

Danny nearly groaned out loud, but found himself nodding anyway. "Ok fine, fine. We'll just _steal_ it back. No way this could _possibly_ go wrong."

"It's Paulina we're dealing with. There's every possible way this can go wrong."

He opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted as the loud and obnoxious bell rang above them. He froze, remembering that he was at school, a teacher would be looking around the library in a moment to check all the students were heading to class. And if he's caught, perfectly fine, by a teacher who knows him, he's _fucked_.

"I have to go." He quickly pushed Phantom to the front without thinking. He stumbled, shocked by the sudden change, but took it in stride.

 **{I'll text you guys when I've gotten an idea on how to get the amulet back.}** He gave them a small smile before turning intangible and invisible, going through the wall and flying towards home.

 _I still think this is a bad idea._ Danny sighed, doing the mental equivalent of putting his head in his hand. _We can't just sneak up to her while we're invisible and grab the amulet from her._

 **{No…}** Danny could feel the mischievous smile on Phantom's face. **{But there's something else we can do.}**

… _what? What the hell are you talking about?_

 **{Don't worry so much.}** The snicker Phantom let out was ominous at best. **{Let's just say we haven't explored every single power we have.}**

 _I hope you know that's the most ominous thing you have ever told me and I'm kinda impressed, considering you're a ghost literally sharing my body._ Danny told him with all the seriousness he could muster. It must not have been enough, because Phantom let out a loud laugh only a second later.

O~O~O

Their parents weren't home by time they had come back, so Phantom didn't bother switching between them. Instead, like usual, he grabbed one of Danny's blankets and put it over his head, then slipped under the covers with his boots on. It was a precautionary measure more than anything else - covering his head with a blanket made it easier to change unseen. Or, fake some pains and hope no one comes close. Luckily the pains seemed to work and they didn't do this often enough just yet for it to be a problem.

Still, Danny grumbled. You could at least take off your shoes before you climb in bed. I'm going to have ectoplasm in my sheets now.

 **{You'll get over it.}** Phantom replied cheekily. He was practically nuzzling the blankets, despite the fact that they only grew colder in his presence.

 _So are you going to tell me about that extremely ominous thing you said earlier? Or are you going to leave me hanging?_

 **{I dunno, it would be pretty funny, wouldn't it? Making you wait for hours, maybe even days-}**

 _Remember you're the one who promised to have a plan ready to Sam and Tucker._

 **{Yeah but they think** _ **you're**_ **the one who made the promise}**

 _Phantom!_

He only laughed, feeling Danny let out a groan of frustration. He couldn't help it - it was just so _fun_ to mess with him. It was just so cute the way that he got so frustrated with him so quickly.

 **{Alright, alright…you've watched horror movies, haven't you?}** He pulled up memories of terrible movie nights with Sam and Tucker that only ended in sugar highs and pillow fights (which Sam always won every time). **{I'm pretty sure there's a billion movies on possession-}**

 _Whoa, hold on!_ Danny sputtered - if he was in front Phantom could tell he would have his mouth hanging open in pure shock _. We're going to_ _possess_ _Paulina? And you don't think that won't end horribly?_

 **{It won't - I think}**

 _You_ _think_ _?!_

 **{I haven't had much practice with possessing humans! I barely left the Ghost Zone so how would I know?}**

He could feel Danny's stress. His own hand reached up to run into his hair, mimicking what Danny was doing mentally.

A beat passed before he opened his mouth again. **{We can practice or something.}**

 _Practice? On who?_

He paused. Their parents were too risky. If either of them realized the other was possessed, they'd be captured and…who knows what. (Phantom honestly didn't need nor want nightmares about _that_ , thanks.) There's also the problem of the possession not fully working - they'd have a pair of angry ghost hunters on their hands. The only other person nearby who would just write it off as a strange experience would be—

 _Are you kidding me?!_

 **{What?}**

 _We are not using_ _Jazz_ _for possession practice! That's stupid and dangerous! What if we hurt her—_

 **{Possessions don't hurt}**

 _You…_ Bewilderment was clear in Danny's voice - even if he wasn't able to read his emotions, _you've never tried it before!_

 **{Well do you have any other ideas for how to get that amulet back?}** Maybe his tone was a little too harsh - but he was just a bit fed up. **{I mean, other than just walking up to Paulina and asking for it? Like you suggested earlier? And getting a dragon trying to kill us?}** He turned right to the mirror – so he could more easily pretend like he was looking directly at Danny. **{We have no other options right now, and Sam's already pissed at us for keeping this Oracle thing from her-}**

 _You mean you keeping the Oracle thing from us? Don't think you're off the hook for that either-_

 **{I didn't want to worry you!}** He pretended not to notice the lights flickering, or the noticeable drop in temperature - even noticeable to him. **{She didn't show the signs for a while so I thought that she didn't have the power of an Oracle. I didn't even feel the pull of one until today-}**

 _You still could have told me at least! You knew I was worried about her and I could feel that you were worried too…_

Phantom sighed, the flickering lights slowed and stopped. He buried himself deeper in the blankets, chilling them even more.

 **{...I'm sorry.}** He muttered. **{Look this whole thing sucks and I shouldn't have kept the Oracle stuff from you.}**

Danny went silent. It dragged on for a beat longer than he expected, and for a moment Phantom was almost afraid Danny was going to give him the silent treatment. But, he heard a sigh.

 _Listen just...how about we worry about the...possession stuff and then the Oracle stuff. One thing at a time or I'm going to explode._

Hearing the cheeky and almost joking tone, a fond and almost relieved laugh bubbled up through him. **{Alright, we'll handle possession first. Should be easy, it's kinda like...stepping inside of another person's clothes. Except its flesh and skin and you're alive for a bit.}**

 _You know we're technically alive, right?_

 **{Details.}** Phantom waved him off, chuckling when he felt Danny roll his eyes. **{Now, we just need to wait for Jazz to come home…}**

 _Wait, we're still using her?_

 **{Since we're struggling with time and I know that we'd rather not find some random person on the street, yes. Besides, Jazz is just going to write it off as a weird experience.}**

 _At best._

 **{Can you be optimistic about this?}**

 _Nope._

O~O~O

Jazz, like usual, didn't show up until an hour after school's end, calling out, "Danny! I'm home!" She slammed the door behind her, frowning when she not only didn't hear a call back, but none of the constant noise from the lab either. "...Danny?" She called again, this time panic more evident in her voice. Immediately, she walked towards the stairs. Blood pumped to her chest, anxiety rising as her mind whispered memories of coming home to Danny strangely silent. Of finding him, not in his room, but curled up on the lab floor, sobbing and in pain.

Far more panicked, she called again. "Danny, are you-"

"I'm fine!" His voice called back down to her, muffled.

A soft sigh of pure relief escaped her. She walked up and stopped in front of Danny's door. "I think Mom and Dad aren't home, so I'm going to find something to make for dinner. Are you feeling well enough to eat? I can try to make soup or something if you aren't."

He paused before answering, his tone slightly embarrassed, "Uh...yeah. I'll just – I'll have whatever you make, I don't need soup. And…thanks Jazz."

A small smile made its way to her lips as she turned away back downstairs to the kitchen. If they're lucky, their Mom had already gone grocery shopping for the month. If not...well she didn't want to scrape up whatever money they had to grab fast food when Danny's sick.

"Ugh." She huffed as she stepped into the kitchen. Already she could smell burnt metal and recesses of ectoplasm. Well, that, or whatever their parents were working on in the lab was giving them extra trouble. With a sigh, she tried the fridge first - and immediately found they didn't have much. Yes, it was filled with food, but there was a few beakers of ectoplasm in there and the food around it was green. She definitely wasn't going to risk making any of it. The cupboards were no better - either empty or the food tainted with ectoplasm. No one in their right mind would even think about eating any of it.

"Note to self: Clean out the contaminated food." She muttered, before heading to the drawer she keeps locked specifically for money they scraped together for delivery. Mostly, it was made up of half her allowance (which dwindled as lately their parents wanted Danny to take on some of the chores himself). But as far as she knew, Danny wouldn't mind cheap pizza, even if he was feeling sick.

She grabbed the money she would need, closing and locking the drawer. She put the money on the table and began to dial for the pizza delivery when the temperature suddenly dropped. A fierce chill ran up her spine. Oddly enough even the lights above her seemed to flicker.

"Ugh don't tell me Mom and Dad accidentally turned on the AC with their experiments." She grumbled, the lights completely flickered before fully blacking out. Rolling her eyes, she turned around only to see two pure green _eyes_ looking right into her own. Before she could even open her mouth to let out a scream, everything went black.

O~O~O

Full disclosure – they aren't good at sneaking. The only thing that kept Jazz from noticing them was the fact that they were invisible.

Another confession, they completely, utterly panicked when she turned and locked eyes with them. She looked ready to _scream_ and the only way to _stop_ that from happening was to just…jump into her body.

And immediately, it was one of the most uncomfortable things he's ever had to deal with.

No one ever really knew how unthinkingly they worked their own bodies. Or how comfortable it felt just to have your body. It was meant for you. You were brought into this world with a vessel easily accessible. But this felt _wrong_. Sitting in Jazz's body felt like he was wearing skin-tight clothes that were _off_ somehow. Something was wrong that he couldn't quite place. Was the top too loose or too tight? Were the pants too short or too long?

"I hate this." He immediately decided, and at once was startled when, instead of his own voice, he heard Jazz's.

 **{This is...weird. I don't like it either. I can…** _ **feel**_ **Jazz's soul.}**

"You can _what_?" His voice turned to a high pitched squeak near the end - is this really what it was like having such a high pitched voice? How did Jazz talk all day and not get annoyed by her own voice after five minutes?

 **{It's just...there. Kind of...dormant? Like her soul itself is asleep. It's weird.}**

"Does it...feel like anything?"

 **{You know, despite all the weird shit I think about doing, I think touching our older sister's soul is something I'm keeping off the list.}**

"Yeah, sorry, that is really weird." He shook his - Jazz's head. "...we should get out of her body. I don't like the idea of being in here too long. And a soul being...dormant for too long doesn't sound that good."

 **{Yeah no.}**

They paused, silence passed between them.

"Phantom?"

 **{Yeah?}**

"...how do I get out of Jazz's body?"

 **{...fuck.}**

" _You don't know how_?!" Danny yelled - no, screeched - in Jazz's voice. "I can't believe you! I knew this was a terrible idea!"

 **{I** _ **told**_ **you I've never done this before! Can't we just...walk out?}**

"I mean, I guess, but I don't know _how_." He ran a hand through Jazz's hair, and was immediately surprised by the change of softness as well as the length. "Can you take the lead here?"

 **{I can...try?}**

The following sensation was even weirder and more overwhelming than when Danny had first taken over Jazz's body. The "switch" was almost like trying to pass a baton, but like the two people were not only running, they had to wear fur suits and pass the suit as well. And the suit was uncomfortable and felt like something _else_ was in it.

And then, there was Jazz's soul.

Danny immediately understood what Phantom had meant by her soul being "dormant." It felt like Jazz was asleep next to him in the same space. A very cramped space, like they were both sitting in a one person bed but…

" **...I have no idea how to do this."** Phantom admitted after a minute, then seemed as bewildered at his own voice as Danny was just a minute ago. **"Is this my voice? Is this my** _ **fucking**_ **voice? What the** _ **hell**_ **? How does Jazz talk for more than five minutes?"**

 _That's exactly what I was thinking!_

" **This is...so weird my voice is…"** Danny could feel Phantom grimace. **"...I have to actually use my throat to speak."**

 _Wait. You haven't been using your throat to speak?_

Phantom waved a hand before huffing and sitting on the nearest chair. **"Ok...this really can't be too hard. We walked right in easily enough."**

 _We were panicking._

" **Honestly that's how we do half of everything we do at this point."**

That, at the very least, made Danny laugh. It...wasn't exactly like he was wrong.

 _Ok, let's weigh our options. Because we really need to get out of her body before our parents come home._

"Right." He crossed Jazz's legs, but since she was taller than them, fitting onto the seat was just slightly more awkward. "So what's our options?"

 _Well…we can find something in the lab to help?_

" **No."** He answered right away. **"There's no way we're doing that. Besides everything in there was just for fighting ghosts or for capturing them. And anything that forcibly separates a ghost and a human would probably hurt Jazz. And you already said you don't want that."**

 _Shit you're right._ Danny sighed. _Well it's not like we can just go up to another ghost and ask them. They'll attack us and, again, Jazz'll get hurt._

Phantom paused. He could practically feel his brain working.

… _.you've got an idea?_

"… **maybe we can ask a ghost."**

 _What the hell is your plan?_

Phantom grinned – an odd feeling with Jazz's face – and he immediately shot up, heading to the stairs. **"Just trust me."**

 _I'm almost afraid to at this point._

Phantom rolled his eyes, heading to their room and grabbing their phone. He dialed Sam's number.

 _What the hell?_ Danny stared through his eyes in confusion. _How would Sam be able to help? Please explain. I'm dying._

He shushed him as the phone rang. It seemed about to go to voicemail when Sam's voice came through, urgent.

" _Please tell me you're calling to explain the Oracle shit to me. I swear I can…feel ghosts trying to talk to me. I'm pretty sure one walked in on my family dinner—"_

" **Sam."**

She paused immediately. _"Jazz? Why the hell do you have Danny's phone? He's going to get pissed at you, you know. And you sound…weird. Are you feeling alright?"_

" **Who says I'm Jazz?"**

Sam went silent again. Danny let out the loudest sigh of the day. Next to him, Jazz's soul stirred just slightly.

 _Please don't terrify Sam. We already have problems with them being afraid of us._

Phantom chuckled – again, a very strange sound when it was Jazz's voice. **"Sam, its Danny."**

" _Danny?!"_ Sam hissed, then paused. _"Hold on."_ She whispered into the phone. They could vaguely hear movement as she was obviously walking somewhere no one would listen in before she once again hissed into their ear. _"What the hell – why do you sound like Jazz?"_

" **Long story…well…maybe not that long at all."** Phantom sat on their bed, humming. **"I uh…got an idea for how to get the amulet from Paulina…"**

" _Yeah…?"_

" **And well…it involves possession."**

Sam paused – for a long time. For a moment, both Danny and Phantom were worried she had fainted or something. (However out of character that would be.) Finally, she whispered, almost horrified. _"You can do that?"_

" **Ah-huh."** He sounded almost nonchalant as he talked about controlling someone else's body. Though Danny knew it was mostly just to keep Sam calm about the whole thing. **"The thing is…um…well I've never tried it before, so…"**

" _Danny._ _Please_ _don't tell me, on top of_ _all_ _of this_ _bullshit,_ _you managed to trap yourself inside of your sister's body."_

"… **whoops?"**

" _For fucks sake, Danny!"_ She groaned, loudly. _"I can't believe you! Do Tucker and I need to keep a twenty four hour watch on you? Cause it's starting to sound like we can't go a minute without you somehow ending up doing something stupid and stressful—"_

" **Can you save the lecture for later? I need your help with this."** Danny couldn't help a small snicker.

 _You're whining._

 _ **Shut up.**_

On the other side of the phone, Danny could almost hear Sam rubbing her temples. _"Danny, I don't know what you take me for, but I have absolutely no clue how to help you with this—"_

" **You're an Oracle."** His voice suddenly lower, in the mirror, his eyes green and so eerily obvious on Jazz, it was almost impossible to look away. **"Whether you like it or not, it is now your job to help the dead with their problems—"**

" _Something you could have explained to me sometime before I nearly passed out today. Thanks for that by the way."_

" **Look, I said I'd explain as soon as I can…"**

" _Yeah, whatever. Just…how the hell am I supposed to help with this?"_

" **Dora."** He answered almost immediately. **"The ghost who talked to you about this in the first place. She's who knows how old. She may know about this."**

Sam let out an annoyed noise. _"And how am I supposed to…summon her?"_

"… **no clue. You'll need to figure that out yourself. But once you do, just tell her to meet me in the first place we fought."**

" _Danny-!"_

" **Bye!"** Phantom grinned – which was so odd on Jazz's face, before hanging up on her. Danny could almost swear that in the distance, he could hear Sam's annoyed scream.

 _She's going to kill us, you know._

" **Can't kill what's already dead!"** Phantom cackled – another strange sound in Jazz's body.

Danny only shook his head. Next to him, Jazz stirred again.

O~O~O

"I'm going to kill him." Sam hissed to herself, glaring down at her phone. Why couldn't Tucker be the one with these problems instead of her? How the hell was she supposed to call a ghost she didn't even realize she could call in the first place?

Besides, the first time, Dora had found her, not the other way around. Would she even be able to…hear her if she called?

But if she doesn't do this…what happens to Jazz and Danny? Danny can't stay in Jazz's body forever…

She took a deep breath, let it out, and with all she could muster, she said, "Fuck," as meaningfully as she could.

She clapped her hands together (fiercely trying not to think of anime as she did so) and took another deep breath.

"I can do this." She muttered. "I can _do_ this."

She relaxed, trying to remember Dora, despite how fuzzy the encounter was in the first place. No matter how eerie or frightening it was. She tried to remember her dirty blonde hair, her rusted over jewelry, the tattered dress, and her glowing red eyes which looked so close to tears…

" **You called for me?"**

Now, she wasn't usually one to startle easily. But, it was hard not to scream when a ghost literally pops into your room without much warning. She bit down on her lip, hard enough to break skin, cutting her shriek short as Dora stared down at her. Her red eyes curious.

" **You've hurt yourself…"** Dora reached for her, her green hand with rusted rings and bracelets immediately made Sam panic and step back.

"I'm fine." She said quickly, ignoring how the metallic taste of blood hit her tongue. "Listen, I need a favor."

She frowned. **"A favor…?"**

"It's about your amulet." She said quickly, immediately having the feeling the dead don't particularly like doing favors for free. Her feeling was only solidified by the way Dora went from hesitance to immediately perking up at the word "amulet."

" **Then what is it you need? Have you found it?"**

"Uh…yeah. You see, this awful girl at my school…found it, so I'm working on getting it back." She scowled just at the thought. At least they hadn't heard anything on the news about a dragon attack, so she was pretty sure they were safe for the time being. "But um…one of my friends is the…Ghost Boy you fought earlier, and he's going to help me get it back…"

She hardly let her finish her sentence, as Dora let out a terrified scream and backed to the wall. **"No! He must not know I'm here! I've intruded his territory, his lair, if he knows I am here he is in his right to destroy my Core!"**

Sam quickly shushed the suddenly distraught ghost, while keeping an ear out for any servants or, worse, her parents nearby. "Shut up! Listen, he's…he promised not to hurt you. He's not that bad."

Dora's look was skeptical at best, Sam tried another approach.

"I'm…an Oracle, right? He's…uh…loyal to me."

" **The Ghost Child is one of your Connected? You managed to make a contract with a ghost as young as him?"** She asked, bewilderment in her voice.

 _My_ _what_ _?_ She tried to keep bewilderment off her face, nodding as calmly as possible. Though she filed it away as something to ask Danny about later. "Uh…yeah. My Connected. And he's helping me with this. He just…needs you to help him with something."

She paused, obviously thinking about it for a moment, before nodding. **"Alright…tell me, what does he need help with?"**

O~O~O

Jazz's body was getting more uncomfortable by the minute; Phantom had to keep himself moving around and pacing across the lab as they waited for Dora to come.

 **"Where the hell is she?"**

 _You didn't really give Sam a lot of directions on how to call her, you know._ Danny pointed out, though he could feel his annoyance at being in Jazz's body for what felt like hours.

 **"Well, yeah, true, but still I thought she'd figure it out-"**

 **"Ghost Child?"**

Phantom felt himself jump immediately, whirling around to see that Dora had snuck up behind him while he was distracted. What the hell happened to their ability to sense ghosts? Had that disappeared while they were in Jazz's body?

They both mentally jotted that "small" detail down for later.

 **"Hey – Dora right?"** How was he supposed to talk to her? He could feel Danny's awkwardness, and tried not to feel the same, but it was pretty hard when he realized he had basically told her to go to the place she lost her amulet in. And she seemed terrified of him attempting to kill her. Which, he figured, was fair on her part.

He was sure at this point he wasn't known for being calm in the face of other ghosts in his lair.

Dora looked down at him, fearful, but there was some...mirth in her eyes **. "Ghost Child...your Oracle told me you were having...trouble."** There was a small giggle in her voice. A wave of warmth went to Jazz's cheeks.

 **"I just...I need to know how to get out of her body. Quickly."**

" **Have you not done this before? No – you couldn't have. You are barely old enough to see the Ghost Zone shift."**

 _We aren't old enough to have seen the Ghost Zone do what?_

Phantom mentally waved him off. _**I'll explain later.**_ Instead, he turned his attention to Dora. **"Well?"**

" **Ah, yes. It's quite simple. It's the same as when a human enters a small room. You merely have to focus on yourself and…exit. Pretend like you are leaving the human in the room while you're leaving."**

 _Sounds simple enough._

 _ **Emphasis on**_ _ **sounds**_ _ **.**_ Phantom ran a hand through Jazz's hair. _**Alright…ready?**_

 _I think this is the most ready I'm going to be about this._

Phantom tried to imagine what Dora described. He imagined linking arms with Danny, and slipping out of Jazz's body.

A low thud reached his ears.

When he opened his eyes to see the damage, he found himself floating in front of Dora. The expression on her face was almost like pride. He turned back and saw Jazz, unconscious, on the floor.

 **{Holy shit we did it!}** He grinned. Danny cheered.

 _Thank god. I did_ _not_ _want to spend the rest of our lives in our sister's body._

Dora giggled. **"It was quite a feat. Now, you are going to be using possession to get back my amulet?"**

 **{Uh, yeah. I um…sorry about…all of this by the way. You lost it because we fought…}**

She shook her head. **"Please, don't worry about it too much, Ghost Child. I shouldn't have stepped into your lair. It's quite large too, for someone so young."**

Phantom couldn't help but puff up a bit in pride. Usually the larger the lair was a huge show to how powerful a ghost someone was. Of course, Amity Park is a far larger lair than he ever anticipated having, even while wandering the ghost zone aimlessly. Taking a quick check in with Danny, they decided it was probably best not to dwell on it too much.

A groan behind him made them realize that not only were they still downstairs, in the lab, but Jazz was going to wake up, with no explanation, in the lab that she avoids most days.

 **{Shit.}** Phantom muttered before turning to Dora. **{Uh, thanks and everything, but you have to go. My sister's going to freak if she sees you here.}**

" **Right. Please, make sure to get my amulet as soon as you can."** And she disappeared, going out of his vision as she slipped out.

 _Alright, what's the story for when Jazz wakes up?_

 **{Uh I was planning to put her at the kitchen table and pretend like she was asleep the whole time.}** Phantom admitted, as he easily picked Jazz up like she was a bag of grapes, throwing her fireman style over his shoulder, and grinning almost sheepishly when Danny groaned.

 _That's a terrible idea._

 **{It's the only idea we have!}** He floated up to the kitchen with Jazz, placing her in the chair, slumping her over onto the table and positioning her arms to they were under her head. **{See? Perfect.}** He pushed control over to Danny, sighing in relief at how it was far more comfortable now.

"Still a terrible one." Danny muttered, then tensed as Jazz grumbled, jolting awake like she had a nightmare. She looked around wildly, before settling on Danny. "Uh – Jazz?"

"Danny! You look – I was –" She looked completely disoriented, looking around the kitchen almost like she didn't recognize the place. "I – what was I doing?"

"Uh…" Danny shifted on his foot, guilt was radiating off of him, and he sputtered around his words, "I have…no clue. I came down to ask what's for dinner but you were asleep."

"Asleep?" She repeated, obviously baffled. "I was just…" She looked around again, obviously confused. Even Phantom couldn't help but wince in guilt. "Th-There was…no…I was…" She shook her head, standing up, seeming shaky. "No, no, I must have fallen asleep, that's all." She seemed to almost be talking to herself more than Danny.

"Are – are you ok?" Danny took a step closer. Jazz took a deep breath, and after a pause, nodded.

"I'm fine. I – what toppings do you want on your pizza?"

"…are you sure-"

" _I'm fine."_ Her voice was almost forceful, still shaky as she took out the pizza money and her phone. "Just…toppings?"

"…pepperoni and mushrooms I guess."

She nodded and went to call for the order. Phantom winced.

 **{Well I feel terrible now.}**

… _do you?_ Danny almost asked sarcastically.

 **{…What do you think she saw? I mean, when we possessed her?}**

… _I don't know._

Danny's gaze went back to Jazz, who was trying to keep her voice steady as she made the order.

… _And, honestly? I don't think I want to know._

* * *

 **Danny: Hey, Phantom? I think we might be really fucking scary to other people**

 **Phantom: whaaaaat there's no way-**

 **Jazz: -is completely fucking frightened after her experience getting possessed-**

 **Phantom: Oh. Oh shit.**

 **Oh yeah this was a bit of a filler chapter before we get into the _drama_ of the next chapter. Either way, I'm happy to get back to this story! I hope you guys are happy it's back too!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys! You're probably wondering "Pandora, where have you been? This chapter took so long and it's only 3,000+ words!" well uh...there's a good reason for that.**

 **First reason: I'm a huge perfectionist with my writing! You see the way I plan this out is I watch the episode, then plan out how I want the next chapters to go. These chapters have been hell because of how many times I rewrote everything. It only just clicked the other day while I had sat myself down and tried to write it out.**

 **Second reason: College! I know, you've probably heard a lot of people blame college but well...it's a lot of work. And time consuming. And I tend to procrastinate so much with homework, you have no idea.**

 **Anyway, now that's out of the way, you guys get to reading the chapter**

* * *

 **Star*tacular: I CAN'T BELIEVE HER**

 **Star*tacular: She fucking ditched me for some FREAK**

 **Star*tacular: And the Fenton freak of all people!**

 **Star*tacular: What the hell am I supposed to do for the dance now?!**

 **Star*tacular: It's in two fucking weeks!**

 **You: Yeah it was pretty shit to cancel on you just to get back at Manson for whatever**

 **You: Do you wanna hang out with me and Kwan?**

 **You: Or, you know, ask out Dash**

 **Star*tacular: Gross no**

 **Star*tacular: Not to hanging out with you and Kwan! To asking out Dash**

 **You: Yeah I know it was a stupid suggestion**

 **You: He's as pissed about Paulina going to the dance with Fenton as you are honestly**

 **Star*tacular: I can't believe this, I got my dress already and everything!**

 **Star*tacular: I'm going to be the laughing stock of the A-listers if I show up alone**

 **You: That's not true**

 **You: You know I won't laugh at you at least**

 **Star*tacular: Yeah, I guess.**

 **Star*tacular: Ugh have you seen Paulina's Insta?**

 **You: No I've been online shopping for the past like...30 minutes?**

 **Star*tacular: [Image sent]**

The image that appeared was a screenshot of Instagram, Paulina posing for the camera in an upshot, looking down at her chest and, more importantly, the glimmering necklace she had gotten from Fenton. The light was hitting just right to pull her eyes to how unnaturally _green_ the jewel was. Even the gold looked strange, almost fake, to her eyes.

Underneath the picture was the caption "New accessory for the dance!" Along with a few winking emoji and lipstick emoji.

 **You: I thought she was only doing this to annoy Manson**

 **You: Why is she posting it?**

 **You: Won't that make people think she's actually into Fenton?**

 **Star*tacular: AND Manson doesn't even follow Paulina in the first place!**

 **Star*tacular: I don't even think that bitch has an Insta**

 **Star*tacular: It feels like she's rubbing it in my face that she's ditched me**

 **You: Want me to talk to her?**

 **Star*tacular: You know that'll only make it worse**

 **You: ...wanna come over and watch a movie then? Your pick**

 **You: My dad loves you I'm sure he won't mind**

 **Star*tacular: ...yeah sure**

 **Star*tacular: I'll be there in a minute**

O~O~O

Danny went to school early for once, half to avoid Jazz and her strange, shaken expression and half because he and Phantom needed to describe their new plan as well as they can. That, and it was a bit hard to describe something like this without potentially freaking them out a bit.

But as he approached where they usually meet up, he found Sam sitting under a tree, looking over Tucker's shoulder as he was scrolling on his iPhone. Without thinking, he sat on the other side of him, looking over his shoulder to find him looking through Twitter.

"Uh...what are you doing?"

"This whole dance thing with Paulina sparked a _lot_ of drama." Tucker grumbled as he practically dissected tweets.

"You follow the A-listers on twitter?"

"I use my 'business' account." He put down his phone to do quotes with his fingers in the air.

"Basically, his barely touched account." Sam piped up.

"So, what's the drama?" He felt Phantom leaning in with him to try and read the tweets over Tucker's shoulder. "Other than, you know, her going to the dance with a nobody."

"Apparently she was originally going to the dance with Star-"

"With _Star_? I didn't know she was-"

Sam immediately shook her head. "As a friendship thing. But Star's pissed at it. She even _blocked_ Paulina and everything. She went on a huge twitter rant last night about how 'betrayed' she feels about the whole thing."

"And I'm guessing Paulina isn't making things better." Phantom spoke through him.

"When does she ever?" Sam rolled her eyes

" _And_ not only that, but Dash is pretty pissed cause he wanted to ask her to the dance."

"Oh no." Danny groaned. "He's going to be on my ass all day, isn't he?"

Tucker barely looked up from his phone as he patted Danny's shoulder. "Don't worry about it too much. I'm sure most of this will be fixed once we get the amulet from her."

"I honestly don't see how. Getting the amulet from her doesn't mean she won't be expecting you to go to the dance with her."

"Baby steps, Sam." Danny sighed. "...besides, I asked her, remember?"

"And you still want to _go_ with her? She's only doing this for some petty-"

"Sam," Tucker spoke up, "Let's focus on the amulet first. Please. So we know at least one ghost isn't on the loose and maybe agitated from her amulet not being back yet."

For a moment Danny thought she was going to try and continue whatever she was about to rant about. But she seemed to think better of it and instead crossed her arms, letting out a short huff.

Danny let out a short sigh, _Alright, we can do this. We can describe this plan without it being weird and scary._

 **{I mean, we can try.}**

Danny sighed again before going, "So w-I've come up with a plan. To get the amulet back. It's kinda...well you have to promise not to be weirded out."

"New ghost power?" Tucker asked, very obviously trying to keep his expression neutral.

"Uh...yeah. So. Well, I found out I can...possess people."

There was a moment of tense silence. Sam, of course, wasn't surprised, but Tucker's mouth dropped open.

"You can... _really_?!"

"Yeah, he can. He called me yesterday cause he was stuck in Jazz's body."

"Sounds like a nightmare."

Danny let out a small laugh. "It _kinda_ was. It's super uncomfortable to possess someone. I figured it's because I'm not entirely a ghost."

"Alright so...how does being able to possess people help with this problem, exactly?"

"Easy. I'm going to wait until lunch or something and possess Paulina. Then I'll put the amulet somewhere you two can grab it easily. Done."

Tucker and Sam stared at him, he grinned.

"…it _cannot_ be that easy." Tucker shook his head.

Danny shrugged, standing as the bell faintly rung from the school, people were already starting to file in.

"I mean, I'd _rather_ this was that easy so we don't have to deal with a dragon destroying the school."

"…fair enough."

 **{Besides, it's not like there's any way this could get complicated at all.}** Phantom almost seemed sarcastic. **{It's almost boring like this, isn't it?}**

 _Nope, no, it's not. This is perfectly fine and we_ _don't_ _want anything to make this more complicated than it needs to be._

Phantom only let out a mischievous giggle.

Things, of course, could never go right for even one moment. As soon as homeroom was over, and Danny walked just a few steps out to the hallway, he heard the usual " _Fenton_!" Before he was pushed and his back slammed against the lockers. The sting of pain hit him right before he was grabbed by the collar of his sweatshirt and pinned against it.

"W-Well morning Dash." He managed to say through a grimace, glancing away from him, while trying to hold Phantom back. Though he could still hear the growls in the back of his mind.

" _Fenton_ you better fucking explain to me how a _freak_ like you convinced _Paulina_ to go out with you!"

"I didn't –" He tried to squirm out of his old but he only squeezed tighter, tightening the fabric around his neck slightly. Phantom's growls grew louder. "I didn't _convince_ her she just…said _yes_."

 **{Danny he's** _ **hurting**_ **you}**

 _He does this all the time, you_ _know_ _this._ He grit his teeth as Dash slammed his back against the locker again with a quick motion, glaring down at him.

"Like _hell_ she would. You probably bribed her or something with that stupid necklace she's been flaunting all over the place. How much money did it cost? Ten dollars?" He grinned. "I bet you stole it out of your freak parents' things – or maybe you stole it from someone else. Wouldn't be able to afford it otherwise I bet."

Their blood boiled beyond the tipping point. They were well aware of the people around them watching, snickering, perhaps more than ready to watch tiny little Fenton get his ass kicked again.

 _ **Oh, that's it**_.

"Let. Us. _**Go**_." They hissed, for a moment, registering the surprise and near _fear_ on Dash's face before they kicked him back. Since they had little room to move, there wasn't much strength behind the kick. But it was enough to make him let go of them and send them to the ground, landing awkwardly on their ass as Dash stumbled, catching himself before he could fall over.

The chatter around them grew, seeming almost enhanced to their senses. They winced, near ready to put their hands over their ears as they could hear every word, every little squeal. In front of them, Dash's face went from shock, to anger far quicker than they could get used to the noise.

" _Fenton_ you little _shit_ you're _dad mea-"_

"And _what,_ may I ask, is going on here?"

Dash clammed up, standing straight as the principal stood in-between a small section of students that had scooted away to let her pass. Besides her was Paulina, arms crossed and smirking right at Dash.

"See, I told you Ms. Ishiyama, Dash was harassing Fenton!"

"So, I see. Dash, my office, now."

Danny watched, completely baffled, as the _school principal_ walked off with Dash in toe, sending him a nasty glare behind her back. Paulina, looking smug as ever, walked over to him and wrapped an arm around his arm, glancing at the crowd, but seeming to lock eyes with someone in particular. He couldn't tell who, since they ducked out with the rest of the crowd as they dispersed.

"Uh...did you...get the school principal for me?" He couldn't help but asked, baffled. He could feel their anger – Phantom's especially, still simmering under the surface. But it was diminished by complete confusion.

"Well of course. Dash has been acting like such a _girl_ about the whole dance thing." She rolled her eyes, scowling. The necklace seemed to glint almost dangerously. "He was ranting on Twitter about beating you up, so I took care of him." She flipped her hair, looking at him with an almost smug smirk. "You're welcome."

Danny wasn't sure _what_ to say. It was nice that now he had Dash off his back for the rest of the day at the very least.

 **{Hey, isn't this your chance?}**

 _My chance to wha-_ _oh._

"Hey, Paulina? I was wondering um, could you maybe meet me at lunch? Like, to talk? About the dance, I guess?"

"Oh, right, we haven't even coordinated outfits yet!" Paulina did an oddly fake gasp that made Phantom feign gagging. Danny bit the inside of his mouth to keep from laughing. "Right, during lunch we can go find a private place to talk." She pulled away and waved bye as she headed to class.

Shit. _Class_.

Danny turned and _bolted_ down the hallway (well, not exactly. More like a dedicated speed walk, he wasn't _that_ eager to get to class). But, at the very least, he was making headway with his plan. Now, he knows at lunch that Paulina will be waiting alone, so no one will find it odd watching her get possessed in the middle of the day. And with Dash out of the picture, this might actually be even _easier_ than he thought it would be earlier.

Lunch came with little to no trouble, but Danny felt almost overwhelmed by the amount of people suddenly paying attention to him. News of what happened with Dash seemed to spread as fast as the fact that he's going to the dance with Paulina. It made him and Phantom even _more_ aware of every little slip up with their powers.

It seemed they were out of luck with the Notice-Me-Not powers when _everyone_ was constantly aware of everything they're doing.

 **{Hey, look on the bright side.}** Phantom spoke through his annoyed internal thoughts as he slipped outside, looking for where Paulina could be waiting for him. **{Once the dance is over everyone will go back to acting like we don't exist.}**

"The dream." He muttered under his breath, turning a corner and pausing as he heard voices.

"...promised me, Paulina!"

"Star, I swear, you're throwing a fit over nothing!"

 **{Oh, sounds like drama.}**

He shushed Phantom, (somewhat forgetting he's in his head and not next to him) and ignored Phantom's snicker as he found himself listening in. _Just to look for an opportunity to possess Paulina. And to...stop her from becoming a dragon._

 **{And to listen in on the drama}**

He shushed Phantom again, in his head this time, and tried to listen intently.

"Throwing a fit over – you're fucking _ditching_ me because you wanted to get back at the goth freak!"

 _Is she...talking about Sam...?_ Danny's eyes widened in horror.

"Yeah, so what?" Paulina sounded as annoyed as Star sounded angry. "You _know_ I couldn't just let her get away with what she said. So, stealing her boyfriend was the easiest way to go about it."

 **{I'm going to kill her.}**

Danny couldn't even bring himself to teasingly scold Phantom for the comment. His chest tightened up. He _knew_ she probably didn't have any good intentions by suddenly asking him out – but _just_ to get back at Sam?

 _Let's just do this. Quickly. Please?_

 **{Of course.}**

Turning invisible, they snuck quietly over to the two arguing girls, who were just getting louder. As Danny got to Paulina's side, he could see her eyes starting to glow red, and her necklace glowing softly. It seemed even Star was starting to notice her skin turn an almost sickly blue and scales starting to grow from her neck and up. She was quickly starting to clam up, her eyes going wide and her mouth going ajar in horror.

Knowing he had to do this quickly, Danny made a move to _leap_ into her body.

The result was odd…and jarring. For the both of them.

They managed to leap into her body, yes, but this was…worse than what happened with Jazz. This was _painful_. It felt like they had been dropped into a tank of flames and nails digging into their skin, with only one small doorway out and some invisible force was _pushing_ them out that way, even as they clung to hold on. Screaming was echoing in their ears, in their _head_ – was it Paulina? Was it them? They couldn't tell.

Only one thing was certain.

 _The amulet was rejecting them._

In the distance they could hear Star calling Paulina's name. They were slipping. They struggled to struggle through the nails and the fire to control the body they were inhabiting, but the minute they loosened they began to slip.

 **{Danny! Danny, let** _ **go**_ **!}**

Phantom was holding onto him. He could feel his worry, his panic. He was pulling them towards the exit.

 _Ph-Phantom!_ He struggled and reached and _clutched_ onto Phantom like he was a lifeline. He practically was at this point. _Get us out,_ _please._

Phantom clearly didn't need to be told twice.

They tumbled out of Paulina's body – no practically _shot_ out – still invisible, intangible. They fell through the ground and _down_. Danny felt himself _pushed_ into the back of his mind before they _finally_ hit a blistering hot ground. The impact reverberated through their body.

Everything went black.

O~O~O

"Where the hell is Danny?"

Tucker counted that as the fourth time, within five minutes, that either of them had asked the question. They figured that possessing Paulina, putting the amulet somewhere and getting back to them wouldn't have taken more than ten minutes, tops. But it was nearing the end of lunch and Danny hadn't even texted them to mention a change in plans.

"…do you think something happened to him?" Tucker finally mentioned the possibility, glancing around the cafeteria. He couldn't even find the usual pink of Paulina's sweater anywhere among the A-listers. "Like, a new ghost or something?"

"I'd say yes if Paulina was back."

"Not…necessarily." He glanced at his phone, wishing that the internet was better. Or something online would help them find their friend. "What if Paulina managed to keep him distracted or something?"

"I mean yeah, probably." She huffed.

"…are you…still annoyed about this morning?"

She went silent, which Tucker knew meant yes. Watching Paulina manage to quiet Dash down for bullying like _that_ was astonishing and almost annoying. Then watching her immediately cling to Danny filled Tucker with a nasty, ugly sensation.

Something like…jealousy.

"Hey, look on the bright side." He fiddled with his phone some more even though he knew nothing on it would be able to help their situation right now. "At least after this Danny probably isn't going to be taking Paulina to the dance."

" _You're_ the one who told him to ask her in the first place you know." Sam raised an eyebrow.

"I thought it was a good idea at the time!" He defended himself, his face feeling hot. "I mean, he didn't seem to have any other plans to ask _anyone else_ out," he subtly pointed at the two of them, "and we're both idiots who won't ask him out—"

" _Hey_!"

" _So_ I figured it was a good idea for him to at least _attempt_!"

"And now we're stuck in this mess." Sam groaned, putting her head on the table. "I swear I'm killing both you and Danny when this is over."

Tucker allowed himself to let out an uneasy chuckle.

Danny didn't come back.

In fact, Paulina didn't come back either.

Tucker knew it was…probably time to panic.

"Do you think Paulina ended up turning into a dragon?" Tucker asked Sam in a low voice despite how much he wanted to _panic_. The two of them walked as slow as they could to their next class, watching the crowd of students as if they'll end up running into Danny.

"Maybe? I think we'd notice a giant fucking _dragon_ or at least _hear_ one."

"I _guess_ but…"

"-Paulina just started _screaming—_ "

They both paused, glanced at each other, and turned to where Star and Valerie were talking to each other. They seemed to have the same thought as the two of them went to stand by the lockers near them.

Sam lowered her voice, leaning down so he could hear "Pretend we're talking about homework or something."

"We almost never talk about homework though."

"Shut up and _pretend_."

"Shit Star that's _awful_." Valerie said, "What do you think happened?"

"I don't _know_ we were just…yelling at each other and then randomly she clutched her chest and started _screaming_ like she was being _murdered_ or something." Star lowered her voice, making it almost near impossible to hear. "But it was… _freaky_. Right before she was screaming I _swear_ I saw her skin turn blue."

There was a pause. Tucker was almost certain Valerie had rolled her eyes.

"Come on, you were angry and freaking right out cause Paulina was literally throwing a fit in front of you. Maybe you were imagining things."

"Valerie, I _know_ what I saw—"

Tucker didn't bother to fight when Sam took his arm and began leading him away somewhere a little more private than where Valerie and Star were.

"Did you hear that?" Sam hissed, running a hand through her hair. "What the fuck happened?"

"Paulina got angry at Star," Tucker began slowly, trying to narrow down what they were saying, "So she started to turn into a dragon but something went…wrong? What if Danny tried to possess her while she was turning and – and it was hurting him?"

"…he did say possessing his _sister_ was uncomfortable. I can't imagine what it must have been like possessing _Paulina_."

Tucker let out a deep breath. "Ok, listen, no matter how you feel about Paulina we _need_ to find Danny. What if he's still in her body or something?"

Sam stared at him.

He stared back.

"…oh _god_ he's still in her body, isn't he?" Sam groaned, slamming her head against the locker next to them. "Ok, alright, we'll need to get him then. I don't know _how_ but we need to before…I don't know."

"Right…time to skip class and go to the nurse's office then?"

"Lead the way."

* * *

 **Oh man guys I have to tell you, I had fun with this!**

 **Originally, when I wrote it, I had a few different ways I wanted their plan for getting the amulet to go, and how it would go wrong. However, as I was writing out the chapter the first time I realized how complicated it was getting. And these are 14/15 year olds! I tried to imagine my sister, who's about 15, making plans like the ones I was writing out and couldn't do it. So, I scrapped the whole thing and re-wrote it. Of course it came out shorter than I expected but I think I like this.**

 **So, for this chapter I really wanted the ability of possession to be a main driving point of why things go wrong. It's a bit disappointing in the original episode surrounding the amulet that Danny only used possession to get out of trouble with and never tried to use it to get the amulet from Paulina. So I had a thought - what if, just using possession, he _can't_ get the amulet from Paulina? The result? Danny and Phantom are who-knows where, shaken up and...traumatized maybe. **

**Anyway, I already know about how I want the next chapter to go, but I'll be busy plotting it out before actually writing it. Then, I'll be able to watch the next episode and debate how I want the next little arc to go! I'll be seeing you guys then!**


	13. Chapter 13

**I'm gonna be completely honest guys - I had this chapter pretty much done for a few months I just forgot to edit because well. College and I got a new job!**

 **The thing is I do have a basic idea of where I want the plot to go. It's just uh...actually writing it. Thank you guys for being patient and sticking around though!**

* * *

The nurse's office is really two different rooms with one inside the other. The first is the entrance the students go through whenever they want to get out of class (or are _actually_ sick). Then, to their immediate right is the actual office the nurse sits in and where she keeps her files. There's no other way out of the second office other than to walk through the first entrance.

When Tucker and Sam got there, the nurse was in her office, her back turned away from the door and looking for what was probably Paulina's file.

Sam glanced at the keys near the door and then at Tucker before whispering, "You should go check on Danny. I'll lock the doors."

"What? I've played more video games I think I'm stealthier than you—"

"This is _real life_ and if we're _caught_ we won't be able to help Danny!" She hissed, pushing him towards Paulina, ignoring his pout, and ducking out of sight just as the nurse turned around. She waited, staying as still as possible before hearing the subtle sound of someone dialing the phone.

She dared to slowly move forward, just enough so that she could see inside the office. The nurse had her back turned to the door, the phone to her ear. "Hello? Is this Paulina's father?"

Slowly, still keeping herself low to the ground, she moved into the room, inching towards the key hanging on a hook while keeping her eye on the nurse.

"Paulina had a strange fit during lunch today, and she's unconscious –"

Sam waited just as unintelligible yelling came over the phone, to the point that the nurse pulled the phone from her ear, to grab the key and keep it tight in her hands to keep it from making too much noise. The little grooves of the keys dug into her skin. She ignored it in order to stay as still as possible as the nurse spoke again.

"She's _fine_ , just sleeping, though it's probably best you pick her up and take her to her doctor."

Sam took small steps out of the room, backwards, and was thankful the door didn't creak as she closed it. Then, as quickly as she could, she stuck the key in the door and locked it. The nurse didn't seem to notice, so she took the extra measure and locked the door next to it too.

"Tucker?" She threw the key to one of the beds nearby, going over to his side, standing over Paulina. "Did you…figure something out?"

"No, not really, I was busy being quiet." He grimaced as he looked over the unconscious Paulina. "Besides, how the hell are we supposed to do this? I am _not_ touching her or _slapping_ her to get Danny to wake up. How does possession work anyway?"

"Do I _look like_ the ghost expert?"

"You're an 'Oracle,' aren't you?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "We both know that I have _no clue_ what that means other than…talking to ghosts."

"Ok then, _how_ are we supposed to get Danny out of Paulina's body then? Do you uh – have that soup thing?"

"The Thermos?" She hadn't even seen the Thermos since the whole incident with Lunch Lady (still a stupid name but it was Danny calling her that). Danny had taken it back home with him and presumably hidden it in his room. And she didn't suspect that he would just take it to school for no reason.

In the end, she shook her head. "Don't have it. Why would we need it anyway? What if it hurts him?"

" _Crap,_ ok, well do we have… _anything_?"

They went silent. The answer was clear. They _didn't_ have anything. Anything that could possibly help them get Danny out of Paulina's body was probably in his parents' lab. And even if they _did_ run to get something, it wasn't guaranteed that something there would help. Not to mention her _dad_ who was probably speeding his way over.

They had no options. They had no way to help. They were just two teenagers standing in front of the body of an unconscious girl.

That is, until her eyes opened, and they found themselves staring down at Paulina and her staring up at them.

Shit.

O~O~O

The human world is odd, strange, and feels so distant from Dora's original memories of what being human was like.

Humans are…emotional creatures, yet somehow colder in a sense. She's forgotten this somehow, while staying with her family. Her home in the ghost zone is…stale, cold. Frozen in time. She has pressure over her at all times.

She never managed to escape the chains that drove her to destroy so many people's lives.

Her home is cruel – she'd be the first to admit that. But she'd prefer the warm cruelty of humans over the icy cruelty of her family. Yet…she is not welcome here, she knows this. She cannot stay in the human world long, no matter how much she craves to be a part of it again. It's obvious with the little things. How she's getting subtly weaker with every second she is away from her true home. How the Oracle here is…not welcoming. She's afraid, she can tell that very obviously. Perhaps she is new, and without guidance. Dora didn't judge her for this, but she hoped she finds an older Oracle to talk to soon.

But, either way, a part of her wanted to stay in the human world, but she knew a part of her would miss her home. She didn't have anyone – many ghosts didn't. It was rare to even find your family in the Zone. She seemed to be both lucky and unlucky to have her afterlife surround her family in such a way. But at the same time, she couldn't leave. She had nowhere to go.

Either way, she knew she had to mostly stay out of sight, and there seemed to be no other ghosts to ask for directions, other than the Child who seemed to be focused on working with his powers. The strange school that the Oracle attends was a perfect place to hide in the meantime. They had an amazing room her core loved – nice and warm. It was such a difference from the chill of her brother's castle, she felt far more energized here.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed. She was only waiting for the Oracle here to find and return her amulet.

Then they came down, all at once.

From the ceiling, the Child came down, clearly unconscious. They changed to a ghost before hitting the floor with, to humans, would be a fatal blow. She floated over to their side, to find them curled up in a fetal position, shivering and letting out little whimpering noises, as if they were a puppy who had gotten kicked.

" **Oh my…what happened to you, Child?"** She whispered, gently pulling the child onto her lap. She reached out to her core, warming herself and the child in her arms. She knew, especially for children, that warmth was a great comfort factor.

But, the more she warmed the Child in her arms, the more they shied away, whimpering and trying to wrestle their way out of her arms. They were definitely stronger than her – as they nearly succeeded in squirming their way out of her arms.

" **What's wrong? Why are you running from me?"** She muttered to herself. Should she check their core? It's an incredibly invasive move, and they are not nearly close enough for her to even _think_ about doing such a thing. But, they also seemed hurt and the only way she can help is if she knows his alignment.

There was another moment of hesitation before she settled her hand on their stomach, right over their core. And she _pushed._

The first thing she was met with was _cold,_ almost _burning_ against her hand, swallowing it whole. She pulled away as quickly as she could but shards of ice still grabbed at her, growing up her arm as if it was trying to pull her back in.

And then there was the static.

Strange, _chaotic_ electricity in the air, from a much deeper, almost dormant part of their core, struggling to get out, to attack, to _protect._

She nearly dropped the Child in an effort to get away.

Powerful. That was the only word she could think to describe what she just encountered. This Child is a _powerful_ young ghost – power she hasn't seen from any ghost under 50 cycles. Power she hasn't seen from ghosts other than…

She shook her head. Now was not the time to dwell on this. She warmed herself again, careful not to let the heat of her core touch the Child, before picking them up and starting to carry them to another room. Since their ice core was active, they definitely needed an icy room. She was fairly sure she had run into one earlier.

It took a while, but she managed to find a small room, filled with boxes and an odd smell – almost like meat – but it was nice and cold. Ice was even forming on the walls. In her arms, the Child settled and seemed far more comfortable. It was odd – they actually seemed to be _breathing_ like a normal human in their sleep. Even if young ghosts tended to breathe on habit, there was no reason to in their sleep…

" **Perhaps you are a little more human than I expected."** She muttered softly, holding them and softly singing an old lullaby.

O~O~O

Casper High is a very odd school, Doris will admit. She's been a lunch lady there for years. High school students always seemed to make her job harder, but also more interesting at the same time. There were dull days where she just had to warm up the food prepared for hundreds of students, and there were exciting days – like that food fight that happened a few weeks ago. Or the next day when she found knives embedded in her wall and plates smashed everywhere. The ovens were charred inside, as if someone had started a fire much hotter than the old ovens themselves could handle. (She requested to get them replaced, but she doubted it would happen for a while)

She never did find the culprit to these odd little "crimes." But security wasn't much help. They only said it must have happened during the food fight when she had quickly run out, and there were no cameras in the room either.

Now, she will admit, while she was cleaning up the last of the food and preparing to finally leave for the day, she _wasn't_ expecting the sound of singing. She was barely allowed to play the radio while she worked!

With a loud sigh, she began searching around the kitchen, looking for the radio she must have dropped earlier. She found the small thing, but found it was completely off. In confusion, she tried turning it on but found that it was only playing static. The song grew louder, covering in the static of the radio.

Doris turned it back off, a deep chill going down her spine.

 _It's a ghost_. Her fears told her immediately. She tried to push it away, but the fear was still there.

No, no, there must be some kind of radio or recording device somewhere that someone kept on to mess with her. Probably one of the students had snuck in while she was on break. (It was amazing what they are able to do with technology these days.)

She tried looking around again, clutching the radio in her hand (you know, to make sure it wouldn't…somehow…turn on again) and searched for what must have been another radio.

But she quickly found the singing was coming from the freezer. How could a radio be in the freezer…? She barely goes in it, and the door is too heavy for anyone to sneak in and out even while she's on break. How did anyone put anything in there?

No, she _couldn't_ let this _prank_ get to her. She had to be strong, All she needed to do was go in, turn off and take out whatever device was planted in there, then she could get home and watch her dramas.

She opened the heavy freezer door, and was met with cold darkness. The strange singing – a lullaby, was now even louder. _Closer_. The door closed and it stopped abruptly. As if someone was suddenly aware of her presence.

She felt eyes watching her.

Staring directly at her.

Someone _knew_ she was there.

 _Don't call out to it._ She feverously told herself, a mantra as she felt the eyes, unblinking, looking directly into her _soul_. _Just turn on the light._ She commanded her shaky, cold limbs to move. The eyes followed her every movement. She shook as she clicked on the light only to find…nothing. No, not _exactly_ nothing, but she was sure her eyes were betraying her. But…she could have sworn, just for a moment, that there was a woman sitting in the middle of the room.

No, no her paranoia must have just been getting to her.

She quickly looked around, rubbing her arms, trying to look for whatever recording device that must have been planted in there.

There were none.

Had…she imagined it?

Still feeling those eyes on her, she hastily turned to leave the freezer, once again struggling with the heavy freezer door.

Next to her ear, as if someone had leaned in from beside her _whispered_. It was unintelligible, practically gibberish, but she didn't hesitate to practically run out of the room.

She could swear she heard giggling right behind her.

O~O~O

Sleeping and waking up is…odd to Phantom. He supposes it's because ghosts don't and aren't supposed to sleep. He normally wakes up the same time Danny does – even their dreams seemed somewhat connected. The only difference being that Phantom could vividly remember them far easier than Danny could.

But waking up _without_ Danny was one of the top ten worst experiences.

The moment he opened his eyes, he couldn't feel his presence or emotions. The only thing he _could_ feel was darkness. He took a frantic second to dig for Danny's consciousness – trying to ignore the panic rising the longer he had to dig. But he did find him. Distant. Unconscious. It felt like he had curled up in a corner and started to sleep off the soreness of their body.

And _god_ , now that he wasn't panicking, he felt _sore_.

It felt like someone had slowly and painstakingly taken the nails he felt earlier out of their body, one by one, but left him bleeding out. At the very least, the room he was in was nice and cool, and the pillow he was resting on was soft. And the singing was lovely.

…wait.

He forced his eyes to open and _focus_ on his surroundings. As they cleared, he found himself looking up at Dora, his head obviously resting on her chest. Her eyes were closed as she sang a lullaby he didn't recognize.

 **{What the fuck?!}** He sputtered, coldness filling his cheeks as he moved away, catching himself as he stumbled into some boxes. His body screamed in protest. Danny whimpered deep in their subconscious. He forced himself to ignore both of it, an eye on Dora who only watched him with something like concern on her face.

" **Are you better, Child?"**

 **{…why did you bring me here?}** He couldn't help but ask, suspicion probably clear in his voice. **{You could have left me alone, wherever I was.}**

" **You were hurt."** She answered simply, placing her hands on her lap. **"That's all, no more, no less."**

 **{Not even because I'm helping Sam get your amulet back?}**

She gave him a small, almost mischievous smile. **"That is…part of it."**

He couldn't help but offer her a smile himself, then frowned. The amulet fell in _their_ bag, they had given it to Paulina. Technically it was _their_ fault the amulet was gone.

 **{I'm sorry. We're trying to get your amulet back for you as soon as we can.}**

"It's fine."

 **{But without it, you can't get home, right?}** He found himself slipping to sit next to her, ignoring his body's protests.

" **Perhaps…"** She hesitated for a moment, before a sad smile grew on her face, **"perhaps that's not such a bad thing."**

He paused, waiting for an explanation. She glanced at him, surprised before continuing, **"My lair, my home, belongs to my brother. My mother, somewhat, but he is the King. My time there is…cold. Lonely."**

 **{What's wrong with the cold?}** He couldn't help but ask, feeling Danny stir once again in the back of their mind, beginning to wake up.

" **Oh, nothing, nothing."** She quickly said with a slight laugh. **"Just…my core is fire. I am a dragon. I crave warmth. And I am…lonely."**

Phantom stayed quiet for a moment, almost pitying her. He could remember just how lonely the Zone could be, even when he found a friend or two to be around for short periods of time.

 **{Maybe when you go back, I can visit you?}**

She chuckled, not maliciously, but obviously more amused than anything. **"I…think I would like that Child."**

 **{We're not that young. You can just call us Phantom. Though other me prefers to go by Danny when he's in control.}**

" **Phantom and Danny. I'll make sure to remember that."**

 _Phantom?_ Danny muttered, and Phantom near sighed in relief as he was filled with Danny's presence. _What happened?_

 **{Possessing Paulina failed and Dora found us.}** He turned to Dora, **{Danny's awake so we're going to try and get the amulet again.}**

" **I'll be in that heated room then."** She stood, giving them a small smile. **"Good luck."**

He blinked. She was gone.

… _did you just become friends with Dora?_ Danny sounded more amused than anything, other than completely exhausted.

 **{I…think so?}** He sat midair, letting himself float, taking the pain off of their body a little. **(So...any idea what happened with Paulina back there?}**

 _No clue. But possession is definitely out of the question._

 **{And she still has the amulet.}** Phantom grimaced, turning invisible. **{We need to find her.}**

… _you don't think how we reacted to the whole possession thing affected her too did you?_

They both had the same thought, Phantom didn't even necessarily have to voice it. Remembering the gut wrenching pain they went through…they really, really hoped she didn't feel that.

O~O~O

Sam and Tucker held their breath as Paulina looked between the two of them, obviously confused. Then, her features morphed into anger and disgust. She sat up quickly, only to wince, glancing around again.

"What the _hell_ are you two doing in here? What happened to me? Why am I in the nurse's office?!" She snapped at them, her eyes flashed a dangerous red.

So definitely _not_ Danny. Great.

Sam immediately made eye contact with Tucker, hoping to convey _'Where the fuck is Danny?!'_ as clearly as possible. He seemed to get the message since he shrugged, equally as confused and panicked as her.

"Can you _losers_ talk? What, trying to get me to get out of going to the dance with Danny like everyone else?" Paulina called their attention to her again. She was clearly working herself up. Sam could see blue scales crawling up her neck, like they were growing from the glowing necklace itself.

"Uh – no!" She quickly interjected, surprising even herself. "Whatever you and Danny decide to do about the dance is totally and _completely_ up to you guys." Every word felt like she was slowly digging a knife deeper into her gut, plastering on what she hoped was a believable smile.

"…oh really?" That seemed to do the trick. She flipped her hair, then winced a bit. But she quickly hid whatever was making her in pain. Whatever happened with Danny trying to possess her seemed to…hurt her somewhat?

"Yeah, of course! Danny's our friend and he seems… _happy_ going to the dance with you. There's just…one tiny thing." She pointed to the amulet. "That. We um…need that back."

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Tucker's mouth form an "O" as he obviously started to understand what she was doing. Quickly, he nodded along.

"Yeah! Sorry Paulina but um…actually _Danny_ sent us to get it back."

"Why couldn't _he_ have asked me then?" She immediately asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Er…he…he has…class. And you know, he'd _hate_ to miss class."

Sam barely held herself back from face palming. Even Paulina looked less than impressed at the excuse.

"Ok then, explain _why_ he needs it back so badly? It's _my_ amulet now, and he gave it to me for us to go to the dance together." She, noticeably slow, crossed her arms over her chest, practically glaring Tucker down who looked like he was going to sweat bullets. "So why the _hell_ would he need it _back_?"

"Because – well – that's because –"

"Because it's not yours!" Sam quickly jumped in, half to save Tucker and half out of satisfaction of seeing the stupefied look on Paulina's face, as if she was smacked.

"N- _Not mine_?!"

"Yeah, it's – it's – mine!" Sam found the lie falling out of her mouth easily. Besides, Paulina would never believe them if they said it belonged to a "friend" of theirs. "It's...its super important to me. My grandma gave it to me and I gave it to _Danny_ to borrow, but my grandma's been bugging me about it lately and I _really_ need it back."

Paulina frowned at her. Sam hoped the bullshit lie would get through to her. Her grandma stopped gifting her with jewelry after she turned ten once she actually _asked_ what she wanted and she probably wouldn't ever care if she lost what she bought her. But with Danny nowhere in sight, this was the _perfect moment_.

The silence was long. It was suffocating. Sam nearly felt herself choking under Paulina's suspicious glare. Behind them, the door to the office jiggled for a moment.

Oh god they were found out.

"What was—?"

"Nothing!" Tucker quickly stepped into Paulina's vision, blocking the office door from her. Sam calculated that security would be running over in less than five minutes considering the nurse _must_ have realized what happened and called someone.

"Paulina, _please_." She stretched out her hand, trying to pull her expression into something a little more desperate.

"…fine." She took the necklace off and handed it back to her.

The gold felt heavy in her hand. Paulina watched her closely, so half for show and half for safe keeping, she slipped the amulet on and slipped it under her shirt. Surprisingly, it was _warm_. Unnaturally warm. So close to her heart, it felt like it was _pulsating_ on her skin. This was dangerous, terribly, terribly dangerous. She could feel the _dread_ of wearing such a cursed item seeping deep into her skin, into her very bones.

 _I need to take this off._

She stopped her hand in its tracks and forced herself to stick them in her pants pockets, plastering a smile on her face at Paulina, who was still fixing her with a glare.

"W-Well thanks." She moved to grab Tuckers arm, hands shaking. She knew she was pale, as she turned with him to the door.

"You're welcome. You know I _love_ to help charity. Goth freaks like you _need_ something to help out your stupid style, you know."

Sam felt herself freeze in her tracks. Usually comments like that didn't get to her. She'd roll her eyes or throw up a middle finger at the asshole but _this_ time, she felt herself stop and turn slowly.

" _What_ did you just say?"

"Uh – Sam?" Tucker whispered at her side, urgent, glancing at the door.

"I _said_ you're a fucking loser and it's a surprise someone _actually_ gave you that amulet. Ugh, I even thought it was _good._ Whatever." She flipped her hair, fixing her with a nasty smirk that only made her blood boil further. "If Danny's _only_ your friend, I guess I can break up with him next time I see him. The only reason I wanted to go to the dance with him was because I thought I was breaking you two losers up. Good _fucking_ riddance."

"You – you –!"

Logically, Sam knew it was the amulet amplifying her emotions, amplifying her _anger_ and making her want to _attack_. It made her want to sink her nails into Paulina's eyes and rip them out, relishing in her screams. She knew, for a fact, that she would never usually react this strongly.

But right now, she didn't _fucking care_.

"You _shallow F_ _ **UCKING BITCH!**_ _"_

Everything dissolved into pure _red_.

O~O~O

It seemed lunch was long over, which Phantom and Danny expected. They floated through the empty halls, trying to figure out if they should risk sneaking into class or just continue trying to find Paulina.

After a solid 2 minutes, they were pretty sure they were better off giving up and waiting until school was over until a familiar chill followed by smoke coming from their mouth.

 **{Wha-}**

A familiar, loud, _booming_ roar came from close by, right in the nurse's office.

 _Oh no._

Phantom flew right into the office, through the door, and found the room in disarray. Claw marks were on the floor, one of the beds was crumpled to the ground. In the corner of the room, Tucker stood, eyes wide and legs shaking.

 **{Tucker!}** He flew over, directly in front of him.

"Danny! Where the hell – Sam – Paulina –!" He near babbled, clearly in pure shock of whatever he'd seen.

 **{I know, I know! Where are they?!}**

"Th-The roof."

Phantom didn't need to hear another word. They barely took a step away before flying up in the air, right through the ceiling. And, like Tucker said, the blue, ghostly dragon sat, rumbling as she loudly growled. Red eyes focused on him, narrowing.

He only glared back, baring his own teeth at her.

 **{Paulina, let Sam** _ **go**_ **or I'll—}**

His eyes flickered down to where Sam was held in the dragon's fist. Or, where she was _supposed_ to be held. Instead, he saw familiar long hair, and an outfit of pastels and pinks…

 _Paulina?!_

Their eyes moved slowly from Paulina to the dragon growling.

 **{** _ **Sam**_ **?}**

" **Shallow bitch!"** She roared, blowing flames in their direction.

 _Yep, that's Sam._ Danny muttered dryly as Phantom quickly flew out of the way of the flames.

 _How the hell are we going to do this?_ Phantom dodged a swipe of claws, a bit too busy to answer Danny's almost frantic question right away. _We can't hurt her!_

 **{We can if she's a large dragon trying to kill us!}** He grabbed another claw, moving his head back as Sam tried to dig the sharp points towards them – towards their core. He felt sweat start to break out on his brow as he pushed back against her, letting out a low growl. **{Sam, I'm** _ **seriously**_ **going to hurt you if you don't go a** _ **little**_ **easy on me!}**

 _Phantom, wait. We need to get Paulina out of harm's way_ _first_ _!_

 **{Easier said than fucking done!}** Still, Danny was right. In a quick motion, he threw Sam's claws to the side and flew directly to Paulina. He plucked her out of Sam's claws, and dodged another swipe. Though, as he got her safely out of Sam's grip – maybe with a few bruises here or there, he quickly realized there was no place to put her where she wouldn't be completely vulnerable.

Except…well…

Despite himself, a smirk formed on his lips as he turned him and Paulina intangible, enough for them both to go through the ceiling and dropped her from the top down, not bothering to wait long enough to see if she fell on one of the nurse beds.

 _Phantom!_

 **{What?}** He popped out to the roof, just in time to dodge another stream of fire. **{I needed to put her somewhere. And think of it as revenge for earlier.}** Danny didn't answer, so he decided not to push more on the matter. Instead, he turned his attention fully to Sam, and down at the amulet.

All they needed to do was get that off.

Again, easier said than done.

He got close first – as close as he could.

 **{Sorry Sam, but this is gonna hurt!}** With that quick apology, he didn't hesitate to punch her across the snout. She roared in pain, staggering back, before turning to him with a fierce glare. Another spout of flames went right towards them, which he quickly made himself intangible to avoid. Still, on some level, it did _sting_ and he quickly moved to the side.

Last time the amulet fell off as quickly as a few punches and kicks. It can't be so different now, right?

So as she was inhaling once more, he quickly flipped in the air, aiming for another kick – this time near her eye. She roared again, this time in pain. One hand moved up towards her grazed eye.

 _ **Perfect.**_ They both couldn't help but think, now diving in, grabbing the amulet with both their hands and _pulled_.

Sam let out a startled noise before he felt a clawed fist wrap around their body, trying to pull them off.

 _Hold on!_

 **{I'm fucking trying!}**

He bit back a scream as their ribs were crushed. He was sure he heard a faint _crack!_ Danny let out something close to a whimper. He felt the taste of ectoplasm on his tongue from his fang biting into his lip. The amulet loosened around her neck and then there was a faint _click_ and the large amulet fell into his arms, already starting to shrink as Sam, in front of him, started to shrink as well.

They let out a sigh of relief, no longer feeling crushed, but there was still a sharp pain every time they breathed.

 _Definitely a broken rib._ Danny winced.

 **{We'll take care of it later.}** Phantom assured him, keeping the now shrunken amulet grasped in one hand while he placed his other hand on Sam's shoulder. She was frowning, a hand over her forehead. Her skin seemed a little green, like she was a moment away from vomiting.

 **{Sam? Are you alright?}**

"What the fuck happened?" She groaned, moving her hand to rub her temple. "I feel like I was hit by a _bus_."

 **{That's sort of my fault. Sorry. But you're ok?}**

"…I think so?" She slowly stood, still rubbing her temples. "I'm fine." Her gaze moved downward, and her eyes widened as they caught the amulet. "You got it? But – I –." She seemed to put two and two together quickly as she paled.

 **{Don't worry about it.}** He quickly spoke for Danny. **{You didn't do much damage.}**

"You sure?"

They pointedly ignored the pain quickly starting to scream at them from their chest as they nodded.

 **{We're sure. You need to rest though. I'll take you back down.}**

She hummed, still seeming woozy from the headache. They focused primarily on getting her down to the now empty nurse's office and flying down to the boiler room to find Dora.

The only thing they wanted right now was to wrap their chest in bandages and sleep for three days.

O~O~O

"Hey, did you see that?"

"What?"

"I _swear_ I saw someone on the roof."

"What the hell are you talking about? No one can get on the roof."

"No, no really! I got a picture!"

"It's so blurry that could be anything!"

"No wait, he's got a point. Doesn't it look like a person?"

"Exactly!"

"What would a person with _white hair_ be doing on the _school roof_?"

"Think it's a _ghost_?"

"Ugh stop messing around."

"Yeah, ghosts don't exist."


End file.
